Bank Accounts

35% bank account holders in India had inactive accounts in 2021: World Bank

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

CBI busts 850,000 mule accounts in 700 bank branches across five states

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

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal slash savings rates: New terms explained

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

Indian Bank launches new savings accounts for NRIs with global access

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

Minors aged 10+ can open, operate bank accounts independently

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

RBI allows minors above 10 years to open bank accounts independently

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

RBI permits minors above 10 yrs to operate bank accounts independently

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 ...

EPFO eases withdrawal process, no need for bank account verification

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 .

DGGI blocks 357 illegal online gaming sites, attaches 2,400 bank accounts

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 .

Dhaka court orders to freeze 31 bank accounts related to Hasina, her family

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

Financial services adoption increases with more women participation

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

RBI invites application for SRO in account aggregator space by June 15

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

Citi accidentally credits client account with $81 trn instead of $ 280

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

HC asks agencies to exercise caution over blanket freezing of bank accounts

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

State Bank of India opens 0.63 mn accounts under Har Ghar Lakhpati scheme

Most of these accounts were opened with zero balance. Through continuous engagement with customers, the bank now has the lowest number of zero-balance Jan Dhan accounts, he added

In Europe, Russians struggle as wary banks shunned them after 2022 attack

Thousands of Russians living in the European Union have struggled to open a bank account or had one closed since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine

RBI issue revised guidelines for inoperative accounts, unclaimed deposits

Purpose is to assist bank customers and consolidate operational instructions on inoperative accounts

RBI Innovation Hub develops MuleHunter.ai to combat mule account frauds

The RBI has taken several measures to prevent and mitigate digital frauds in the financial sector, including the issuance of cybersecurity and cyber fraud prevention guidelines, among others

Punjab & Sind Bank seeks bids to sell Rs 403 cr bad loans in 9 accounts

Out of the nine accounts put up for sale by the lender, two accounts - Diksha Greens and Star Bazar Group - have been classified as "fraud" accounts, and only ARCs can bid for these accounts

Rs 42,300 cr loans given since launch of account aggregator framework

Nearly half of it has been facilitated in the second half of financial year 2024 (H2FY24)