How To Know If You Have $1.8 Billion In Your Canadian Unclaimed Bank Account

Ottawa — Bank of Canada and three of the nation's largest provinces are looking for owners

This record number continues to rise year after year, despite efforts by governments to turn the money over to the rightful people. owner.

As of June 30, the Bank of Canada (BoC) said there were approximately $1.1 billion in "unclaimed balances" contained in his 2.5 million accounts that had been dormant for over a decade. says.

According to the BoC, unclaimed balances are “Canadian dollar accounts, deposits or transferable balances” such as checking accounts, bank drafts and credit card balances held by a bank or trust company. means. It has been inactive for at least 10 years, probably because the owner cannot be traced.

After 10 years, the balance will be transferred to the BoC, who will hold it for another 30 years if the value is below $1,000 and 100 years if the value is above $1,000. The money is then considered confiscated and transferred to the government's general fund.

Set up a searchable online registryvia a new website despite the BoC's attempts to contact the rightful owners of the fundsHowever, the total value and number of unclaimed balances, inactive accounts, and informing Canadians of this information has exploded over the past decade.

In fact, he has more than doubled since 2010 when he was $433 million.

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But the Bank of Canada isn't the only government agency that's making huge sums of money in search of its rightful owners.

The governments of Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and New Brunswick may help residents recover forgotten or lost balances, or claim money from real estate after the death of a family member. I have also set up an online registry or tool that can help.

The B.C. Government established the Unclaimed Property Society (BCUPS). It handles all of the state's unclaimed funds from credit union balances, unpaid wages, or unpaid real estate. The organization is making a record $178.3 million, up from $100 million in 2014, according to spokesperson Martin Livingston.

every year," he explained in an email. Last year, the association transferred his little over $700,000.

BCUPS encourages anyone who believes they have unclaimed funds to contact thefree online registry to get their money back free of charge .

"The earliest unclaimed account in the Association's database dates back to his 1859. This is approximately $200 worth of unclaimed property and is the public guardian of BC and It has been transferred to the Society by the trustee," said Livingston.

The largest unclaimed sum is a $1.9 million estate that the legal heirs are "unaware" of, the association said.

Revenu Quebec sits on his second largest pile of unclaimed funds in the country. As of August 10th, there are 401,000 accounts worth a total of $436.5 million.

Most of these accounts are worth less than $500, but nearly 1,800 are worth more than $25,000.

According to Revenu Quebec spokesperson Claude-Olivier Fagnant, the oldest unclaimed balance is his 53-year-old estate worth just over $40,000.

He advised Quebec citizens to contact the organization's online registry to see if there were any unclaimed balances. This can be recovered up to $5,460 with a fee of up to 15% of the account value.

Last fiscal year, Revenue Quebec distributed his $21 million unclaimed balance or estate to owners, and he also gave $31 million to Fonds, the Quebec government's debt relief fund. Distributed to des Générations.

The Alberta government also claims that it is the rightful owner of more than 362,000 accounts worth a combined $135 million, according to an unnamed Alberta Treasury Department email. Established the Unclaimed Property Registry to help find Board and finance spokesperson.

About one-third of that amount ($44 million) was in uncash checks, $36 million in unclaimed trusts, investments, escrow accounts and securities, and $28.5 million in unclaimed funds. Claimed insurance premium. Unclaimed amounts can be found in thefree online registry

"As of August 16, there were 25,516 properties valued over $1,000 and There were 315,469 valuations," the ministry said.

"The rightful owner has 10 years to recover property from the register.

New Brunswick became the fourth state in January to announce online registrations to reunite residents who have lost money. The government said in a statement that the database will be completed in 2023.