Money Basics · Banks, FDs & savings

Nominees & joint accounts

There is over ₹78,000 crore lying unclaimed in Indian banks and companies. Not stolen. Not lost. Just money whose owners died or forgot, with no nominee to hand it to.

What a nominee is

A nominee is the person your bank hands the money to if you die. Without one, your family faces months of paperwork, death certificates, legal heir certificates, indemnity bonds, sometimes court, to access YOUR money in their worst weeks.

Adding a nominee takes 5 minutes in your banking app. Do it for:

1. Every bank account and FD

2. Your demat account and mutual funds

3. EPF and insurance policies

> Nominee ≠ heir. A nominee is a trustee who RECEIVES the money; your legal heirs (or your will) decide who KEEPS it. For most young single people, making a parent the nominee solves both.

Joint accounts, decoded

• Either or Survivor, both people operate it independently; if one dies, the other keeps full access. The default for couples.
• Jointly, both signatures needed for everything. Safer, slower.

A joint account with a parent is also the simplest way to manage money for someone who isn't app-savvy.

The checkup

Open your bank app now. Profile → Nomination. If it says 'Not registered', you have a 5-minute task worth lakhs of saved grief. Then check your demat and MF platform. SEBI requires you to either nominate or explicitly opt out.

₹78,000+ croreunclaimed money in India (RBI's UDGAM portal exists just to search it)

Paperwork sorted. Now back to the money itself, because the FD rate you were promised is nowhere near the rate you actually keep.

Takeaway. No nominee means your family fights paperwork for months to reach your money. It's a 5-minute fix in the app, do it today.