Bank Accounts

Banks are slowing down fully online account opening after a rise in mule accounts and digital fraud; lenders are now adding in-person checks and branch visits to make customer verification stronger

Balances in savings or current accounts that have not been operated for 10 years, or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from the date of maturity, are classified as 'unclaimed deposits'

Launched in August 2014, PMJDY was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a financial inclusion programme to provide access to banking services to a vast unbanked population

Account Aggregator ecosystem is poised to unlock new frontiers in formal credit access, especially for MSMEs and personal lending, contributing meaningfully to India's journey towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The Account Aggregator (AA) framework was officially launched on September 2, 2021, establishing a secure, consent-based system for financial data sharing. In 2016, the Reserve Bank of India issued the Master Directions for the AA ecosystem. On the occasion of the 4th anniversary, the ministry in a statement said, the AA ecosystem has grown rapidly and is witnessing accelerated adoption across banking, securities, insurance and pension sectors, strengthening India's DPI (digital public infrastructure). As on date, 112 Financial Institutions have gone live both as Financial Information Providers (FIP) and Financial Information Users (FIU), while 56 have gone live solely as FIP and 410 as FIU, it said. Over 2.2 billion financial accounts are n

The new account holders, who will open accounts after August 1, will need to maintain a higher minimum account balance in the savings account. A failure to do so may attract a penalty

The number of fraud cases investigated by the ED has been steadily increasing, over a decade till 2024

World Bank's Global Findex 2025 finds over one-third of Indian bank accounts were inactive in 2021, driven by Jan Dhan accounts and lack of comfort in usage

The CBI has detected 8.50 lakh mule bank accounts in over 700 branches nationwide which are being used by cyber criminals to launder proceeds from scams involving digital theft, impersonation, fraudulent investments, and UPI-based frauds, an enquiry by the agency has found. The central agency's crackdown on these mule accounts, opened using fake IDs for the limited use of siphoning victims' money, came through a coordinated search operation recently at 42 locations in Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh during which nine suspects were taken into custody, officials said Thursday. Those taken into custody include alleged middlemen, agents, aggregators, account holders, and banking correspondents, all believed to be instrumental in orchestrating and facilitating the opening of these fictitious accounts, they said. A mule account opened in the name of an individual who may or may not be aware that the account is used to launder illicit money. The CBI has found that

Lenders shift too flat rates and others continue with tiered returns after central bank's policy decisions

The Bank's new offerings aimed at a seamless combination of traditional trust and modern conveniences, reinforcing its position as a trusted banking partner for NRIs around the globe

Regulator says banks may offer facilities such as internet banking, ATM/debit cards, cheque books to minors

Minors of any age can open and operate savings and term deposit accounts through their natural or legal guardian

The Reserve Bank on Monday permitted banks to allow minors above the age of 10 years to open and operate savings/ term deposit accounts independently. The Reserve Bank of India has issued revised instructions on opening and operation in the deposit accounts of minors. Minors of any age may be allowed to open and operate savings and term deposit accounts through his/ her natural or legal guardian, the RBI said in a circular addressed to commercial banks and cooperative banks. They may also be allowed to open such accounts with their mother as guardian. "Minors above such an age limit not less than 10 years and up to such amount and such terms as may be fixed by the banks keeping in view their risk management policy, may be allowed to open and operate savings/ term deposit accounts independently, if they so desire, and such terms shall be duly conveyed to the account holder," the circular said. Further, on attaining the age of majority, fresh operating instructions and specimen ...

Retirement fund body EPFO on Thursday said applicants seeking withdrawal from provident funds online do not have to upload the image of a cancelled cheque and their bank accounts need not be verified by employers. The move is expected to fast-track claim settlement process for nearly eight crore members and ensure ease of doing business for employers. At present, members of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), while applying for withdrawal of funds from PF accounts online, need to upload image of cheque leaf or attested photo copy of the passbook of the bank account seeded with the UAN (Universal Account Number) or PF number. The employers are also required to approve the bank account details of the applicant. The EPFO has completely dispensed with the requirement of uploading an image of a cheque leaf or attested bank passbook while filing online claims, the labour ministry said in a statement. These two steps have been done away with to ensure 'ease of living' for EPF .

GST intelligence officers have blocked 357 websites of illegal offshore online gaming firms and attached about 2,400 bank accounts, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday. The ministry also cautioned the public against engaging with offshore gaming platforms, even though many Bollywood celebrities and cricketers, besides social media influencers, are found to be endorsing these platforms. About 700 offshore e-gaming companies are under the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) scanner, as these entities are evading GST by failing to register, concealing taxable pay-ins, and bypassing tax obligations. Investigations also revealed that these offshore companies operated through 'mule' bank accounts to process transactions, the ministry said, adding the DGGI blocked 166 'mule' accounts. "So far, 357 websites/URLs of illegal/non-compliant offshore online money gaming entities have been blocked by the DGGI, in coordination with the Ministry of Electronics and .

A Dhaka court on Tuesday ordered the freezing of 31 bank accounts linked to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her family members and their associates over corruption allegations against them, according to media reports. According to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), these bank accounts belonging to Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, sister Sheikh Rehana, nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and their related organisations hold a total of Tk 394.6 crore (INR 281.2 crore approximately), reports Prothom Alo. The organisations whose bank accounts have been ordered frozen include Bangladesh Awami League and Jatir Janak Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Trust, according to The Daily Star newspaper. Judge Md Zakir Hossain passed the order after ACC Deputy Director Md Monirul Islam, who is leading the inquiry team, submitted an application in this regard. In the application, the ACC said Hasina and others are trying to transfer the money from these accounts. S

The survey was conducted across 10,000 agents in the country, recording financial transactions of women consumers

The complexity necessitates frequent coordination among REs to address various operational issues

The transfer was missed by two employees and detected by a third employee 90 minutes after it was posted

The Delhi High Court has asked probe agencies to exercise care and caution over blanket freezing of bank accounts. The matter before Justice Manoj Jain related to one such action of the agencies on the petitioner company's account, having a withdrawal balance of more than Rs 93 crore, but witnessing an innocuous entry of Rs 200. "Such blanket measures, if taken recourse to, without offering any reason, can certainly play havoc with the financial concerns of such account holders," it said. The court's February 20 order said, "It is, therefore, high time that the investigating/law enforcement agencies, in the context of freezing bank accounts, act with requisite care, caution and yes, compassion as well." Instead of freezing the bank account, the court said, authorities should explore the possibility of marking a lien on the disputed amount to mitigate the undue hardship caused to account holders and ensure the disputed amount was secured. Taking note of multiple such cases, the cou