RBI Centralises Search For Unclaimed Deposits, Launches UDGAM Portal

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation) portal to allow users to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in one place.

For now, customers of the seven banks listed on the portal, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank, South Indian Bank, DBS Bank, and Citibank can start using the UDGAM portal.

The central bank will start the phased rollout to the remaining banks from October 15th.

Reserve Bank Information Technology (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS) and participating banks collaborated on developing the portal.

How Can Users Find Unclaimed Deposits Using UDGAM Portal

After logging in, the UDGAM portal asks for the person’s name, who could be a relative who has passed away. Following the name, the portal prompts the user to provide additional details, such as address, PAN details, Voter ID and bank name. If the portal finds a match, the user can begin proceedings to access the bank account.

The UDGAM portal only allows users to access the details of the bank account, not the actual funds. The proceedings to access unclaimed deposits then continue at the concerned branch of the bank where the deposit is sitting.

The launch comes months after the RBI started work in April on an AI-enabled web portal that helped users locate unclaimed deposits sitting in bank accounts.

In a regulatory policy statement, the RBI said all the bank deposits unclaimed for ten years are transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. While banks display the list of unclaimed deposits on their websites, the RBI said the UDGAM portal will make accessing these funds easier for their rightful owners.

“Through these initiatives, the RBI has been encouraging members of the public to identify and approach their respective banks for claiming unclaimed deposits,” said the central bank in a statement on Friday.

It is to be noted that unclaimed deposits, which are 10 years or more, in the public sector banks (PSBs), grew by over 70% between December 2020 and February 2023, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad informed the Lok Sabha earlier this year. Moreover, PSBs transferred INR 35,012 Cr in such deposits to the DEA Fund as of February 2023.

UDGAM’s launch comes as the RBI has been working on centralising the information database to streamline and regulate access to financial data by end users and companies alike. This July, the federal bank launched the Centralised Information Management System (CIMS) to handle the data flow, aggregation, analysis, public dissemination and governance.