RBI has good news for nominees of deceased bank customers
What's the story
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced plans to standardize the procedure for settling claims pertaining to bank accounts and safe deposit lockers of deceased customers. The announcement was done by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra while presenting the third bi-monthly monetary policy for FY26. The move is aimed at bringing uniformity in how banks release the funds and belongings of deceased customers to their nominees or legal heirs.
Simplified process
A look at the new procedure
The new procedure, as explained by Malhotra, will make the settlement of claims in respect of bank accounts and articles kept in safe custody or safe deposit lockers more convenient and simpler. This is expected to significantly ease the process for legal heirs of deceased bank customers. The announcement comes amid a growing number of unclaimed deposits with banks across India.
Deposit data
Surge in unclaimed deposits
As of June 30, 2025, Indian banks had transferred more than ₹67,000 crore in unclaimed deposits to the RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. Public sector banks contributed a major chunk of these unclaimed deposits, with State Bank of India leading the list at ₹19,329.92 crore. Other top contributors included Punjab National Bank (₹6,910.67 crore) and Canara Bank (₹6,278.14 crore).
Current regulations
Existing guidelines on claims settlement
As per an RBI circular dated August 18, 2021, banks are required to have a Board-approved policy for settlement of claims and release of contents from safety lockers/safe custody articles to the nominee. This is in accordance with the provisions of Sections 45 ZC-45 ZF of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The existing process also mandates that banks devise their own claim formats to ensure that the genuine nominees receive articles left in safe custody and locker contents.