CBUAE issues dormant account regulation

The previous regulation stated that a personal savings account is considered dormant if there have been no transactions for six years.

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has issued new directives for dormant accounts regulation to ensure that the funds in dormant accounts are kept safe and available whenever the customer seeks repayment.

The central bank said that banks are required to segregate dormant funds and enable customers or their legal heirs to receive the available balances in these accounts anytime and laws apply to all banks operating in the UAE.

In a statement, CBUAE stated that the purpose of the regulation is to establish a framework for the control and protection of dormant funds in banks.

The previous regulation stated that a personal savings account is considered dormant if there have been no transactions for six years.

HE Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori, the Governor of the CBUAE, said, “The regulation introduced will safeguard dormant accounts and will make certain that consumers are able to access them at any time.”

The regulation sets out the mechanism whereby customers can claim their funds from the bank and customers must be able to receive any balances that are due to them at any time, regardless of the period the customer was dormant.

“Where the customer classified as ‘dormant’ remains so for five years after the last transaction on their account, then the related funds in their account must be transferred to the central bank for safeguarding,” said CBUAE.

Transferring the funds to the central bank will not affect the ownership of the account and the funds transferred to the regulator will always remain available to be reclaimed by the dormant customer or by their legal heir.

“Consumer protection remains a focus of our overarching strategy and we are committed to continuously enhancing our regulative provisions to safeguard consumer rights,” said Al Mansoori.

However, the regulator emphasized that funds transferred to the central bank will no longer attract any interest payments and CBUAE will not be liable for any such payments on the transferred funds.