Easier Access to Deceased's Bank Money: RBI Plans Standardised Process

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday announced that it has decided to standardise and simplify the process of settlement of claims relating to deposit accounts of deceased customers of banks so that the families of these customers do not face any difficulty in receiving the money or valuables due to them.

Currently, the process of settlement of claims in respect of deceased customers varies across different banks. RBI has decided to streamline and standardise it across banks to facilitate settlement of these claims. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said, "We will standardise the process of settlement of claims relating to bank accounts of deceased customers and items kept in safe custody or safe deposit lockers. This is expected to make settlement more convenient and simpler." RBI said that a draft circular in this regard will be issued for public consultation soon.

Under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, nomination facility is available in respect of deposit accounts, articles held in safe custody or safe deposit lockers. It is intended to facilitate expeditious settlement of claims, return of articles or release of contents of safe deposit lockers on the death of the customer and to mitigate hardships caused to family members. As per the existing instructions, banks are required to adopt a simple procedure for expeditious and hassle-free settlement of claims made by survivors, nominees or legal heirs, but these procedures vary across different banks. RBI has also decided to introduce auto-bidding facility in Retail Direct for investment and reinvestment in T-bills. According to an RBI statement, “To enable investors to plan their investments systematically, an automated bidding facility for Treasury Bills (T-bills) has been introduced in Retail Direct, which includes both investment and reinvestment options. This new facility helps investors to automatically place bids in the primary auction of T-bills.”

The Retail Direct portal was launched in November 2021 to facilitate retail investors to open their gilt accounts with the Reserve Bank under the Retail Direct Scheme. The scheme allows retail investors to buy government securities (G-Secs) in primary auctions as well as buy and sell G-Secs in the secondary market. Several new features have been introduced in terms of product and payment options since the launch of the scheme, including the launch of a mobile app in May 2024.