A bank account is considered dormant when there is no financial activity—deposit or withdrawal—for a period of two years for a savings account and one year for a checking account.
Your bank could decide to close your account if you haven't been using it enough (or at all). If there have been no debit or check transactions for at least three years, the bank might consider the account abandoned and refer it to your state's unclaimed property program.
Inactive Accounts
Generally, an account is considered abandoned or unclaimed when there is no customer-initiated activity or contact for a period of three to five years. The specific period is based on the escheatment laws of each state.
Once your account has been dormant for 2 years, we will automatically close your account. If you had a positive balance in your account, these funds will be moved to unclaimed balances, and you can claim these at any time.
To close your account, visit your home branch, fill out the account closure form, and submit it with ID proof and any account items. Ensure all dues are cleared, and closure fees (if any) are paid. Once submitted, the bank typically processes the request within a week.
Your account has repeated overdrafts or a negative balance.
If your account has incurred excessive overdraft fees resulting in a negative balance, or if you have an unpaid balance, a bank may decide to close your account.
Generally, an abandoned account is one for which there has been no customer-initiated activity or contact for a period of three to five years. States' abandoned-property programs require banks to turn over the funds of such bank accounts to the custody of the state treasurer.
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), if you do not make transactions such as withdrawing cash at an ATM/branch, transferring funds, paying via cheques, etc., your savings/current account will become dormant.
Even if you maintain a balance but rarely engage in any activity such as online transfers or deposits for an extended time your bank may consider your account dormant and close your account.
You would face a penalty from the bank
As you must already know, your Savings Account needs a minimum balance or else a penalty charge is levied on it.
If you just want to close, contact your bank
You can usually request this: online. by phone or live chat. in person.
Usually, closing a bank account online is a relatively quick process once funds have been transferred to a new account and any outstanding payments have cleared. Once the preparation work has been done, the act of canceling the account online may take only a few minutes.
However, long periods of inactivity often cause accounts to be marked as dormant. The amount of time varies depending on the bank and the product. In general, current accounts are deemed 'lost' after about 12 months of no use, while savings accounts can be left for three to five years before the bank takes action.
An overdraft is a loan provided by a bank that allows a customer to pay for bills and other expenses when the account reaches zero. For a fee, the bank provides a loan to the client in the event of an unexpected charge or insufficient account balance.
There are no fees for reactivating dormant accounts, and banks cannot impose penalties for not maintaining minimum balances in such accounts. It's important to note that banks must still pay interest on savings accounts regularly, regardless of whether the account is active or not.
How long does it take for a bank account to become inactive or dormant? The timeframe varies depending on the bank's policies, but typically an account becomes inactive after 12 to 24 months of no customer-initiated transactions. Dormancy usually sets in after a longer period, often exceeding two to five years.
Can I reopen a closed bank account? It may be possible to reopen a closed bank account if you contact the bank directly and explain your situation. However, reopening your account may not be possible if there have been repeated problems, such as regular overdrafts.
Bank accounts become inoperative (or dormant), if they remain unused over a period of time. As per RBI guidelines, a savings/current account will be inoperative if there are no transactions in the account for over a period of two years.
Typically, an account may be considered inactive after 12 to 24 months of no transactions. If it remains inactive, the bank might close the account, usually after notifying the account holder. It's best to check with your specific bank for their policies on inactive accounts to get the most accurate information.
Your bank may close your account and send you to collections if you're always in overdraft and/or don't bring your account up to date. An overdraft occurs when your account falls below zero. Your bank will let your account become negative if you have overdraft protection but you may face fees.
Myth About Automatic Closure:
Contrary to the layman's opinion, the zero balance itself does not automatically close the very day of the zero balance. The dynamic nature of business always makes banks look at this as a cyclical fluctuation; they may normally see periodic declines to zero on any given date.
Identifying suspicious activity involves monitoring customer transactions, identifying patterns, and monitoring for red flags. Red flags may include unusual transaction amounts or frequency, transactions with high-risk countries or entities, or transactions involving a new customer with no prior banking history.
To ensure that families dealing with the death of a family member have adequate time to review and restructure their accounts if necessary, the FDIC will insure the deceased owner's accounts as if he or she were still alive for six months after his or her death.
Whether you open the Account at a branch or online, if it remains at a zero balance (R0. 00) for a consecutive period of 360 days, it will be automatically closed, with or without notice to you. 3.2 If you choose to take a debit card with the Account, the card will be linked to your Account.