Recently, several banks in mainland China have successively initiated actions to control or clean up “long-term inactive accounts.” Many people have expressed confusion about this action, as they had not received any relevant notifications from the banks beforehand. They are concerned about the possibility of their accounts being controlled or cleaned up, whether their funds will be emptied, among other uncertainties.
In their announcements, many banks mentioned that the cleanup primarily targets long-term inactive individual or unit accounts. The criteria for identifying long-term inactive accounts vary among different banks, but generally involve characteristics like “long-term lack of active transactions” and “low balances.” Most banks focus on accounts with balances below 10 yuan that have had no transactions for over a year or even longer. Some banks only clean up accounts with zero balances.
According to reports by Voice of China, representatives from various banks were contacted regarding the criteria for identifying “long-term inactive accounts.” What are the differences among different banks? Mr. Zhang, head of the personal finance department of a commercial bank in Jiangxi, stated that the criteria include continuously having a balance below 10 yuan and no active transactions for three years or more.
However, specialized accounts such as social security cards, medical insurance cards, and retirement accounts are not within the scope of this cleanup.
The criteria for “long-term inactive accounts” at another bank in Jiangxi, as explained by Mr. Chen from the personal finance department, include having a balance of 10 yuan or less and no active non-interest-bearing transactions for 365 days or more. Certain types of accounts are exempted, such as financial social security cards, provident fund cards, and accounts linked to home loan repayments, fund management, and stock custody services.
According to a business manager at a rural commercial bank in Zhejiang, their standard is two years of inactivity and a balance below 50 yuan, triggering automatic classification as an “inactive account.” However, customers can lift the restriction by visiting the bank with their bank card and ID, and their funds will not be affected.
A representative from a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China mentioned that besides individual accounts, there are also “long-term inactive accounts” for corporate accounts, and the requirements are more stringent.
For public accounts at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, there are categories such as “long-term inactive accounts” and “inactive for six months.” If an account has been inactive for six months, it cannot be used; after a year of inactivity, it becomes a long-term inactive account; if there is no activity for five years and the bank cannot contact the account holder, the account will be closed by the bank.
Many netizens have expressed concern about not remembering whether there is still money in their unused bank cards. Some may have a few yuan or tens of yuan left. The main question raised is what happens to the money in the bank accounts after the cleanup.
“User ‘冷之6′”: I don’t understand. Is the card mine? Is the money mine? Is this money illegal? Why should you clean up my account just because I haven’t used it?
According to CCTV reporter Wang Lei, during the cleanup of long-term inactive accounts by banks, account holders will be contacted through methods like SMS notifications and mobile banking reminders. To retain the account, a single active transaction before the bank’s controls are implemented suffices. If there is still no activity after the cleanup period, the bank will close the relevant accounts. Even after closure, if there are funds remaining, they can be reclaimed from the bank.
In response, the user “User ‘林子裡有木屋丶'” questioned: How can you reclaim it? Can you just ask for it back with ease?
Many netizens have questioned why banks are cleaning up “long-term inactive accounts.”
According to reports citing expert opinions, cleaning up “long-term inactive accounts” helps reduce potential risks associated with such accounts and decreases possibilities of misuse such as involvement in telecom fraud.
User “晚瑞波桓汽廣”: They have all sorts of legitimate reasons for taking our money! It’s unbelievable… if everyone contributes a dollar, the accumulated sum from the cleanup would be considerable.
User “i布龍”: There is still over 340 yuan in my bank account. Because I haven’t used the card for 10 years, the bank directly cancelled my card without any SMS or phone contact. When I inquired at the counter, they told me that it was due to system deficiencies back then, and now the system no longer has that information. They asked me to go to the branch where I opened the account to search for records, but that branch has already been closed. I have no way to address this unless I make a big issue out of it.