Bank of Ghana educates customers on dormant accounts

The Bank of Ghana says a bank account shall be regarded dormant only after two years of inactivity (no withdrawal or deposit).

It said if a customer allowed his or her bank account to go dormant, he or she would not earn any interest for as long as the account remained dormant.

A statement issued by the Central Bank said similarly, financial institutions cannot levy any charge on such dormant accounts.

It urged customers to always ensure that their contact details with their bankers were up to date to enable them contact them easily in case their account became dormant.

“Did you know your “Next of Kin” can be contacted by a financial institution when all its efforts to reach you fails?” The statement asked.

It called on customers to ensure that the contact details of their “Next of Kin” were up to date.

The Bank of Ghana encouraged customers to contact any branch of their financial institution to get their dormant account reactivated at no fee.

“Remember, you will not be allowed to withdraw from your account if it is dormant,” it added.

It said the dormant account of customers would be published in the daily newspapers if it remained dormant for more than five years.

The statement said the funds in a customer’s dormant account shall be transferred to the Central Bank after five (5) years of inactivity for continuous protection.

Source: GNA