In accordance with the updated regulatory guidelines, all banks are required to transfer to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund (“the Fund”) the amounts becoming due in each calendar month. These include proceeds from inoperative accounts and balances that have remained unclaimed for ten years or more, along with interest accrued on interest-bearing deposits up to the date of transfer. This transfer must be effected during the last five working days of the following month. Prior to initiating the transfer, banks must ensure that all legal obligations, including applicable tax deductions and payments, are fulfilled or that adequate arrangements are in place.
Transfers from Member Banks’ Own Accounts
Member banks shall remit the full amount due to the Fund via the e-Kuber platform under the “DEA Fund Services” module. While crediting the Fund, banks must input their unique DEA Fund Code in the “Bank DEA Fund Code” field. Additionally, they must furnish a detailed break-up of the transferred deposits, including:
- Interest-bearing deposits
- Non-interest-bearing deposits
- Other credits (including non-deposit unclaimed amounts)
Transfers from Non-Member Banks through Sponsor Banks
In cases where sponsor banks are transferring unclaimed amounts on behalf of non-member banks, the remittances must be made separately for each non-member bank. The appropriate DEA Fund Code of the respective non-member bank must be indicated in the designated field in e-Kuber. Sponsor banks are also required to submit the corresponding break-up (number of accounts and amounts) under the respective categories—interest-bearing, non-interest-bearing, and other credits.
Deposit Window for Monthly Transfers
The deposit window for transferring unclaimed balances through the e-Kuber system shall remain open only during the last five working days of every month. Each bank (including non-member banks) is permitted to make only one transfer per month.
Non-member banks are advised to transfer the due amounts to their sponsor banks well in advance to ensure timely onward transfer through e-Kuber. Upon successful remittance, the e-Kuber system will automatically generate and send an acknowledgment receipt to the registered email ID of the remitting bank.
Claim Window for Recovery from the DEA Fund
The e-Kuber system will accept claims from the Fund during the first ten working days of each month. Each bank may submit only one consolidated claim per month.
Non-member banks should submit their claims to their sponsor bank in sufficient time to enable timely submission to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) via e-Kuber. The RBI will examine each claim and, if found in order, credit the claimed amount to the member bank’s account (or to the sponsor bank in case of a non-member). The settlement or rejection advice will be emailed to the respective bank.
In cases involving non-member banks, the RBI will credit the sponsor bank, which must then ensure that the funds are credited to the relevant non-member bank without delay.
Customer Due Diligence and KYC Compliance
Before processing payments to customers, banks must conduct appropriate due diligence in compliance with the RBI’s Master Direction – Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016 (as amended from time to time). While verifying the authenticity of claims, banks should strive to ensure a seamless and customer-friendly process.
Audit and Record Maintenance
At the time of transferring funds to the DEA Fund, banks are required to maintain customer-wise details, duly verified by internal or concurrent auditors. This includes:
- Payment of up-to-date interest on interest-bearing deposits
- Verified records of non-interest-bearing deposits and other credits
Auditors must certify that the monthly and half-yearly returns submitted to the RBI have been correctly compiled, in accordance with the bank’s books of accounts.
Disclosure in Financial Statements
All unclaimed liabilities for which amounts have been transferred to the DEA Fund should be reported under “Contingent Liability – Others, items for which the bank is contingently liable” in Schedule 12 of the Annual Financial Statements.
Additionally, banks must provide disclosure of amounts transferred to the Fund under the Notes to Accounts in the prescribed format.
Effective Date
These revised instructions shall come into effect from October 1, 2025.
