The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a centralized web portal UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access information) that simplifies the search for unclaimed cash deposits.

According to the Reserve Bank, the web portal “will make it easier and easier for people to search for unclaimed deposits at multiple banks in one place.”

The current development comes after the Central Bank announced on April 6, 2023, as part of the “Development and Regulatory Policy Statement”, the launch of a centralized web portal for searching unclaimed deposits.

These guidelines establish various development and regulatory measures related to the financial markets. regulation and supervision; and payment and billing systems.

“Given the increasing trend in the amount of unclaimed deposits, RBI has conducted public awareness campaigns from time to time to raise public awareness of this issue. Additionally, through these initiatives, RBI has encouraged the public to identify and contact their respective banks for the claiming of unclaimed deposits,” RBI says.

How can I access unclaimed deposits?

• Go to the RBI platform udgam.rbi.org.in

• Enter your data and register

• Enter the name of the account holder and the name of the bank

• Enter voter ID, PAN, driver’s license number or passport number (if you have one) and date of birth

• If the details match, the results will show the bank account information and the unclaimed amount

The launch of the web portal will help users to identify their unclaimed deposit accounts and allow them to either claim the deposit amount or go live with their deposit accounts with their respective bank.

RBI initially states that the facility is currently available to customers of seven banks including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd, South Indian Bank Ltd, DBS Bank India Ltd and Citibank NA

The search function for remaining banks on the portal will be available gradually until October 15, 2023.

Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS) and participating banks collaborated to develop the portal.

Specifically, the deposits that have not been claimed from a bank for ten years will be transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund administered by the Reserve Bank of India.

RBI says it has taken various measures to ensure that newer deposits are not “unclaimed” and that existing unclaimed deposits are returned to their rightful owners or beneficiaries following due process.

Second, banks display a list of unclaimed deposits on their website. In order to improve and expand depositors’ access to such data, RBI has developed this web portal to enable a cross-bank search for potential unclaimed deposits based on user input. “The search results are improved through the use of certain AI tools,” says RBI.