Since 17 July 2017, Banks have been able to close dormant bank
accounts by depositing the account balance into a central fund, the
Jersey Reclaim Fund. Any money that is not reclaimed from the fund
will be used for charitable and social purposes.
The Dormant Bank Accounts (Jersey) Law 2017 (the
Law) is now fully in force, specifically as to the
responsibilities of the Chief Minister detailed below.
How does this help banks?
Currently, where a Jersey bank has lost contact with a customer
it must maintain the customer’s deposit account. The Law
allows banks to remove the liabilities associated with dormant
accounts from their balance sheets.
How does the scheme work?
An account will be classified as dormant if no transactions have
been carried out by the customer on it for 15 years. Banks will
have to notify customers with dormant accounts 3 months before
transferring account balances to the central fund. There is a
transitional provisions to give banks time
