Have you found an ‘unclaimed balance’ in your family’s financial records?
Did you know that at the end of December 2012, approximately 1.3 million unclaimed balances, worth some $496 million, were on the Bank's books?
Have you discovered an "unclaimed balance" in your family's financial records?
According to the Bank of Canada, an "unclaimed balance" is a "Canadian-dollar deposit or negotiable instrument, issued or held by a federally regulated bank or trust company." It can be in the form of a:
- deposit account
- bank draft
- certified cheque
- deposit receipt
- money order
- GIC
- term deposit
- credit card balance or
- traveller's cheque
When there has been no owner activity in relation to the balance for a period of 10 years, and the owner cannot be contacted by the institution holding it, the balance is turned over to the Bank of Canada, which acts as custodian on behalf of the owner.
The Bank of Canada holds unclaimed balances of less than $1,000 for 30 years, once they have been inactive for 10 years at the financial institutions.
Balances of $1,000 or more will be held for 100 years once transferred to the Bank of Canada.
Balances are transferred to the Bank of Canada once a year, on 31 December.
The Bank of Canada website has an online database that you can search for an unclaimed balance. If you have additional questions or need to know how to make a claim, visit the Unclaimed Balances page. You can also call the Bank of Canada at 1-800-303-1282.
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