The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that next of kin, legal representatives, and beneficial owners can now claim unclaimed sums in inactive accounts.
In a report released over the weekend, the apex bank indicated that next-of-kin can now apply for unclaimed cash through financial institutions.
These applications must include legal proof of title and, for corporate entities, information about directors and authorised signatures.
The CBN will deposit unclaimed funds in the Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account and invest them in treasury bills and other securities.
Beneficiaries will get their principle and any interest refunds within 10 working days of submitting a reclaim request.
Account holders must contact a banking institution to fill out a reclaim form and submit proof of ownership, a written affidavit, and a valid identification.
Financial institutions will validate the claim and forward it to the CBN within ten days. The CBN will reimburse your money within 10 days of receiving your request.
If a financial institution’s licence is revoked, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) would oversee inactive accounts.
This policy also affects balances in dormant domiciliary accounts, but not those in active domiciliary accounts.
An inactive account has no customer-initiated transactions in six to twelve months. A dormant account has been inactive for one year or more. Unclaimed balances are ones that have been idle for at least a decade.
Current, savings, term deposits, domiciliary accounts, share deposits, prepaid card accounts, and government-owned accounts are all eligible. Exempt accounts are ones that are being litigated, investigated, or encumbered.
The CBN directed banks to notify account owners when an account becomes inactive or dormant, and then quarterly thereafter.
Remember that the CBN recently instructed financial institutions to transfer all unclaimed funds to an account administered by the central bank.
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