You Could Have Forgotten Money Sitting In Old Bank Accounts — Here's How To Find Out
It eventually just goes to the Government of Canada if no one claims it.
The Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario.
It's 2011. You're 16. You play "Party Rock Anthem" on repeat on your iPod Touch. Life is good. You get your first job and open your first bank account with the help of your parents. Time passes. You move. You age and become jaded. Jobs come and go, and you forget about that once glorious $986.59 you saved that one summer in high school. Now, it might be sitting in the vaults of the Bank of Canada, waiting for you to reclaim it.
What happens to unclaimed bank account balances?
The Canadian central bank is responsible for holding bank balances that private financial institutions have labelled unclaimed. This happens when an account or financial service sits unused for a 10-year period, according to the Bank of Canada.
Banks have to try to contact an account holder three times, in years two, five and nine of account dormancy, before finally handing over the balance to the BOC.
What happens to unclaimed bank account balances in the Bank of Canada?
It becomes the purview of the bank's Unclaimed Properties Office (UPO).
Balance owners then have 30 years to collect their sum if it's under $1,000. The bank will hold balances of more than $999.99 for 100 years. After that, unclaimed money goes straight into the coffers of the Government of Canada.
Only balances from savings accounts that earned interest before their transfer to the Bank of Canada will continue to draw interest, and only for a period of 10 years, the UPO says.
How can Canadians claim forgotten balances?
Luckily, the UPO has a handy, easy-to-navigate online tool whereby erstwhile bank account holders can check to see if they have any balances lying around. Users need only input their full name, city and province of residence to search for unclaimed riches.
If someone were to find money belonging to them, they then have to undergo the process of getting it back. It involves submitting what's called a claim request and any documentation the UPO says it will need to verify the claim.
Claim requests are free, but they could take a while to process. The UPO says the average processing time is 120 days.