Master Circular on Dormant Accounts and Unclaimed Funds

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

11 October 2026

To: All Licensed Banks
Operating in the Sultanate of Oman

Subject: Master Circular on Dormant Accounts and Unclaimed Funds

1. Reference is drawn to Circular No. BM 1045 dated 29th September 2008 regarding Inoperative Accounts.

2. The Central Bank of Oman, based on its review of the extant instructions on the subject matter, has decided to revise the instructions governing the designation and treatment of dormant accounts and unclaimed funds with licensed banks.

3. The key objective of the revised instructions is to establish effective controls and safeguards of dormant accounts and unclaimed funds.

4. Dormancy status and coverage of customer accounts for dormancy status:

4.1. Dormancy status means the classification assigned by a licensed bank to a customer account that satisfies the dormancy criteria specified under this circular.

4.2. Demand deposit accounts - All customer deposit accounts (held in local or foreign currency) payable on demand, including but not limited to current accounts, savings accounts, call accounts, and any other deposit accounts payable on demand.

4.3. Fixed deposit/Term deposit accounts - All customer deposit accounts (held in local or foreign currency) placed with the bank for a specified period at an agreed rate of return (interest/profit rate) and repayable upon maturity or subject to conditions applicable for premature withdrawal, including but not limited to term deposit accounts.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

4.4. Prepaid cards and Wallet accounts.

4.5. Any other dues payable to customers, including unclaimed refunds, margin account or security balances that become payable upon discharge of the underlying obligation, and other customer balances not covered above.

5. Coverage of balances with licensed banks for Unclaimed funds:

5.1. Bankers Cheques or Demand drafts issued that remain unclaimed by the beneficiary.

5.2. Unreconciled balances at ATMs (includes funds which are identified, but have not been claimed/refunded to customer).

5.3. Unreconciled balances at CDMs (includes funds which are identified, but have not been claimed/refunded to customer).

5.4. Unreconciled balances arising from Nostro account transactions that are attributable to customers, excluding bank balances and outstanding reconciliation items not attributable to customers.

5.5. Unreconciled balances lying with the bank, that are attributed to customers or transactions.

5.6. Returned or failed electronic transfers, which remain unreconciled.

6. Following criteria shall apply to the designation of customer accounts as Dormant Accounts and to the classification of Unclaimed funds:

Dormant Accounts

6.1. The designation for dormancy shall be undertaken at individual account level and not at customer level. In case a customer is maintaining multiple accounts/deposits with a bank, all such accounts/deposits shall be assessed individually for the purpose of designating them as dormant, as the case may be.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

6.2. A demand deposit account (whether held by individual(s) or legal person(s)) shall be designated as Dormant where there are no deposit or withdrawal transactions carried out in the account for a period of two (2) years from the date of the last such transaction.

Transactions such as third-party transfers, social benefit payments, dividends, direct debits, standing instructions, automatic sweep-in or sweep-out transactions, interest/profit or maturity proceeds from other deposits credited pursuant to the customer's instructions shall constitute deposit or withdrawal transactions. However, deposit and withdrawal transactions arising solely from the operation of the account by the bank, such as charges, interest/profit accrued on the respective account, fees, /penalties or taxes shall not be considered for the purpose of determining account dormancy.

6.3. For the purpose of dormancy designation, transactions relating to servicing of credit facilities, including repayments and drawdowns, shall be deemed to be withdrawal transactions initiated by the customer.

6.4. In case of fixed deposit accounts, whether held by an individual(s) or legal person(s), which do not provide for automatic renewal, where, upon maturity, the deposit is neither renewed as per customer instructions nor the proceeds credited to account of the customer or otherwise redeemed, the fixed deposit account shall be designated as dormant if it remains unclaimed for a period of two (2) years from the date of maturity.

6.5. In the case of pre-paid cards, the pre-paid card balance shall be designated as 'dormant', where there has been no customer-initiated transaction, including topping up (where permitted), for a continuous period of two (2) years from the date of the last customer-initiated transaction.

6.6. For Wallet accounts, where there has been no customer-initiated transaction, including topping up for a continuous period of two (2) years from the date of the last transaction in the account.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

Unclaimed funds

6.7. Bankers Cheques or Demand drafts issued at the request of the customer, that remain unclaimed by the beneficiary or not cancelled and refunded to the customer, within a period of two (2) years from the date of issue.

Unclaimed balances in ATM, CDM, Nostro account transactions, returned or failed electronic transfers (including remittances) and any other suspense account balances held with a bank that are attributed to customers or transactions, shall be designated as 'Unclaimed funds' within a period of (2) two years from the date of transaction in such head of accounts.

6.8. Any other dues payable to a customer, where they remain unclaimed for a period of two (2) years from the date on which the amount becomes payable.

7. Inactive Customer Accounts

7.1. Other than dormant designation, banks may designate customer accounts as 'Inactive' where there is no deposit or withdrawal transaction for a shorter period to dormancy designation (e.g. one year), as defined in the Board approved policies by the bank.

7.2. Bank shall implement appropriate monitoring and risk-based controls on such inactive accounts to mitigate misuse and encourage customers to reactate their account. Bank shall also ensure that such accounts are not being used for the purposes of money laundering or fraudulent transactions.

7.3. Designation of inactive customer accounts shall be regarded as an internal bank level risk-based monitoring category and shall be without prejudice to the criteria for designating the Dormant accounts as specified in Para (6) above.

8. Restrictions/Controls for Dormant accounts and Unclaimed funds

8.1. No debit/withdrawal transactions in dormant accounts shall be permitted without completion of reactivation procedures, unless instructed by the Central Bank or under the relevant laws (such as decision from the Court, Public Prosecution in case of AML/CFT matters etc.).

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

8.2. Credit transactions shall be permitted, subject to applicable AML/CFT, sanctions and fraud prevention and monitoring requirements;

8.3. Reactivation of dormant account and updating of KYC information, including that of the beneficial owners shall be in compliance with the applicable AML/CFT requirements;

8.4. No fee or charges should be levied for re-activation/closing of dormant accounts or making claims on unclaimed funds.

8.5. Banks shall ensure that such controls do not result in undue delay once the customer is duly verified;

8.6. Banks may provide secure and accessible digital channels to their customers, in addition to their access to its branches, for reactivation of dormant accounts, subject to appropriate customer authentication and due diligence requirements as per Circular No. BM 1191 and BM 1231 regarding Instructions on Digital Onboarding and Electronic KYC and KYB and other related instructions as amended from time to time;

8.7. Banks shall establish and implement robust access control mechanisms governing dormant accounts. Access to dormant account information shall be restricted to authorized personnel only. Reactivation of dormant accounts and other activities involving changes to the account status or operation shall be subject to dual authentication (maker-checker) controls. All such access and activities shall be subject to appropriate audit trails.

8.8. The funds in the dormant accounts and unclaimed funds lying with banks attributed to customers or transactions shall remain the property of the customer or in the event of the customer's death, his/her legal heirs. Under no-circumstances shall bank transfer balances relating to dormant accounts or unclaimed funds to income/profit accounts or appropriate such balances in any other manner.

8.9. Where it is an interest/profit bearing demand deposit account, interest/profit shall continue to be applied on dormant accounts in accordance with the terms of the contract between the bank and the customer.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

8.10. Banks shall not levy penalty or charges on dormant accounts or unclaimed balances, other than those expressly permitted under the CBO instructions.

8.11. Banks shall ensure that reactivation of dormant accounts, upon satisfactory completion of due diligence, is processed within a reasonable timeframe, not exceeding five (5) working days. Upon reactivation, due notice of activation shall be given to the customer through different communication channels such as SMS, Email etc.

8.12. Where a dormant account is reactivated by the customer using digital channels, the bank shall apply a cooling off period of at least three (3) working days before debit transactions can be initiated from the account post reactivation. Banks may, on a case-to-case basis, permit an exception to the three (3) working day period based on a documented risk assessment, subject to enhanced customer authentication and appropriate fraud prevention and monitoring controls.

8.13. Transactions in reactivated dormant or inactive account, as the case may be, shall be subject to enhanced risk-based monitoring for AML/CFT and Anti-Fraud purposes and shall apply enhanced monitoring-based risk indicators such as amount and number of transactions.

8.14. Credit transactions mentioned under 8.2 shall be subject to review for AML/CFT and Anti-Fraud purposes and shall apply enhanced monitoring-based risk indicators such as amount and number of transactions.

9. Actions to be taken by Banks in dealing with Dormant accounts and Unclaimed funds:

9.1. Banks shall provide prior notification to customers before designation of account as dormant, urging them to reactivate the accounts.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

9.2. Notification shall also be issued to customers regarding unclaimed banker's cheque or demand drafts, notifying them of non-encashment of the issued instruments.

9.3. Above notifications shall be issued at least twice, through appropriate communication channels such as written, electronic (such as email, SMS etc.) or verbal, within the following timeframe prior to designation of the account as dormant account or classifying as unclaimed funds:

• First notification shall be issued at least 30 calendar days prior to proposed designation date.

• Second notification shall be issued at least 7 calendar days prior to proposed designation date.

• A minimum interval of 7 calendar days shall be maintained between the two notifications.

9.4. Post designation, banks shall undertake periodic and progressive efforts to contact customers, at least once every six months in respect of dormant accounts/unclaimed funds through the registered communication channels available with the bank, advising them to re-activate the account or claim the unclaimed funds. Such communications shall not disclose account-specific or other sensitive information unless the identity of the recipient has been appropriately verified. Failed contact attempts shall be appropriately recorded and reasonable follow-up measures undertaken using the customer information and communication channels available with the bank.

9.5. Banks shall maintain appropriate records of contact attempts and follow-up actions undertaken, to evidence compliance with the requirements under these instructions.

9.6. Banks shall establish appropriate mechanisms to identify and assess the reasons for prolonged periods of account dormancy and take appropriate measures to facilitate customer re-engagement and reduce avoidable dormancy.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

9.7. Banks shall review and update their existing Board approved policies, to align with the provisions of the revised instructions contained herein.

9.8. Banks shall maintain complete audit trails for designation, reactivation and transactions relating to dormant accounts/unclaimed funds.

9.9. Banks must ensure that important terms relating to dormant accounts and unclaimed funds are included in the terms and conditions for account opening, to ensure transparency for the customer.

9.10. Banks shall take necessary steps to educate the customers on the need and desirability to keep the accounts active and the consequences thereof. This should be done on an on-going basis, i.e., at the time of opening accounts, issuing reminders through statement of accounts, and any other modes of communication such as mobile app notifications, SMS alerts, emails and messages in social media handles of the bank. In addition, banks should undertake general 'awareness campaigns', on an ongoing basis regarding activation of 'dormant accounts' through different modes such as print media, social media or digital channels.

9.11. Banks shall publish on their official website details regarding designation of dormancy accounts and the procedures for reactivation, including required documentation and timelines, in a simple, clear and easily accessible manner for the public.

10. Governance and Oversight

10.1. Banks shall put in place a comprehensive report before the Board or a designated Board Committee at least annually, covering: number of dormant accounts; aggregated balances in dormant accounts; unclaimed balances and ageing; analysis of the movement of dormancy balance and actions taken for customer outreach and settlement.

10.2. Internal audit, compliance and risk management functions shall periodically review adherence to these instructions.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

10.3. Banks shall maintain complete records relating to dormant accounts and unclaimed balances, ensuring availability for verification, audit and settlement in accordance with the relevant law.

10.4. All dormant accounts and unclaimed funds shall be fully reconciled on a monthly basis. The reconciliation and any exceptions identified shall be subject to appropriate management review and escalation as per the approved policies in this regard. The reconciliation process and related controls shall be subject to periodic review by Internal Audit and annual review by the external auditor.

10.5. In the event of merger, amalgamation, transfer or sale of business, banks shall ensure that liabilities relating to dormant accounts and unclaimed funds are fully identified, appropriately transferred and supported by complete customer and transaction records.

11. Banks shall ensure that dormant accounts and accounts holding unclaimed funds remain subject to due diligence and reporting obligations under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), where applicable. The dormant status of an account shall not exempt the account from CRS classification, monitoring, or reporting requirements.

12. Where an account becomes undocumented due to the inability to obtain or update the required self-certification or tax residency information, banks shall treat such accounts in accordance with the CRS requirements for undocumented accounts and apply the relevant reporting procedures.

13. The provisions of this circular shall not apply where the customer of a dormant account is subject to financial sanctions, asset freezing measures, or other restrictive measures issued by the competent authorities or under applicable decisions issued by National Committee for Countering Terrorism or international sanctions regimes.

In such cases, banks shall comply with the applicable sanctions requirements and shall not reactivate, release, or permit access to the funds unless permitted under the relevant sanctions framework or authorized by the competent authority. This shall also apply to any updates or changes to sanctions lists at any point of time and banks shall take immediate action accordingly.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

BM 1233

14. Banks shall submit a half yearly report on Dormant accounts and Unclaimed funds, commencing with half year ended 30th June 2027, as per the format in Annexure I, to the Surveillance Department through FTP platform, within thirty (30) days from the end of the reporting period.

15. Banks shall align their policies, systems and procedures to comply with these instructions, at the earliest, but not later than 30th June 2027. These instructions shall apply to all existing and new accounts and unclaimed funds, including accounts already classified as dormant as at the effective date of these instructions. Banks shall submit confirmation of compliance to the Chief - Financial Stability and Banks Supervision at Central Bank, latest by 31st July 2027.

16. The Circular No. BM 1045 dated 29th September 2008 on Inoperative accounts shall continue to apply until 30th June 2027 and shall stand repealed with effect from 01st July, 2027 and banks shall ensure compliance accordingly.

With best regards

Ahmed Al Musalmi
The Governor

Encl: Annexure

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

Annexure I
Half yearly report on Dormant accounts and Unclaimed funds

Bank Code	Bank Name	Reporting Date	Reporting Frequency	Contact Person	Contact Email
			Half Yearly

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

Table 1: Summary of Dormant Accounts (In Numbers) - Segmentwise as on end of Reporting Half Year

Bank Name:
For the Period ended:

S No	Particulars	Number of Current Accounts	Number of Saving Accounts	Number of Term Deposits / Other Deposits	Grand Total
		Omani	Non-Omani	SMEs	Corporates	Government Accounts	Wallet Accounts	Custody Accounts	Others (including balance in Overdraft accounts)	Omani	Non-Omani	Others	Omani	Non-Omani	SMEs	Corporates	Government Accounts	Margin Money or Security Deposit for issue of Letter of Credit/ Guarantee	Others
1	Total No. of Accounts classified as Dormant as on end of Reporting Half Year (1.1 + 1.2 + 1.3)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1.1	Out of Sl No. 1 above: No of Accounts remaining in Dormant status for less than 5 years as on reporting date	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1.2	Out of Sl No. 1 above: No of Accounts remaining in Dormant status for more than 5 years, but less than 10 years	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1.3	Out of Sl No. 1 above: No of Accounts remaining in Dormant status for more than 10 years	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Active Accounts as on reporting date (i.e. not marked dormant)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Total Number of Accounts in the Bank (Active & Dormant) as on reporting date (1+2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

Table 2: Summary of Dormant Accounts (in Value) - Segmentwise as on end of Reporting Half Year

Bank Name:
For the Period ended:

S No	Particulars	Outstanding Amount in Current Accounts in RO '000	Outstanding Amount in Saving Accounts in RO '000	Outstanding Amount in Term Deposits / Other Deposit Accounts in RO '000	Grand Total in RO '000
		Omani	Non-Omani	SMEs	Corporates	Government Accounts	Wallet Accounts	Custody Accounts	Others (including credit balance in Overdraft accounts)	Omani	Non-Omani	Others	Omani	Non-Omani	SMEs	Corporates	Government Accounts	Margin Money or Security Deposit for issue of Letter of Credit/ Guarantee	Others
1	Total Outstanding Liability Amount as on Reporting Date (Amt in OMR or OMR Equivalent) in Dormant Accounts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1.1	Out of Sl No. 1 above: Outstanding liability Amount in Accounts which remain in Dormant status for less than 5 years as on reporting date	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1.2	Out of Sl No. 1 above: Outstanding liability Amount in Accounts which remain in Dormant status for more than 5 years, but less than 10 years as on reporting date	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1.3	Out of Sl No. 1 above: Outstanding liability Amount in Accounts which remain in Dormant status for more than 10 years as on reporting date	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Outstanding Liability Amount in Active Accounts (i.e. not marked as dormant)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Total Outstanding Liability Amount in Active and Dormant Accounts as on reporting date (Amt in OMR or OMR Equivalent) (1+2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Guiding Notes:

1. The Total Number of Dormant account balance in amounts must match with the figures reported in other tables.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

Tabel 3: Dormant Accounts in Different Balance Band

Bank Name:
For the Period ended:

Sr. No.	Description of Balance Amount	Number of Accounts	Deposit Amount in RO '000
		Current Deposits (including call deposits)	Saving Deposits	Term /Any Other Deposits	Total	Current Deposits (including call deposits)	Saving Deposits	Term /Any Other Deposits	Total
1	Account Balance =< RO 100	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	RO 100 > Account Balance =< RO 1,000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	RO 1000 > Account Balance =< RO 5,000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	RO 5,000 > Account Balance =< RO 10,000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Account Balance > RO 10,000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Guiding Notes:

1. The Total Number of Dormant accounts and Balance amount must match with the figures reported in other tables.

Central Bank of Oman | البنك المركزي العماني

Tabel 4: Details of Unclaimed Balances

Bank Name:
For the Half Year ended:

Sr. No.	Description of Balances Designated as Unclaimed Funds	Opening Balance as on immediately Preceeding Half Year	Additions during the reporting half year	Deductions/ Settlements during the reporting half year	Outstanding Balance in RO '000	Out of Column No. (4), Unclaimed Balance for more than 5 years	Out of Column No. (4), Unclaimed Balance for more than 10 years
		(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
1	Unclaimed Bankers Cheque or Demand Drafts
2	Unclaimed balances in ATM
3	Unclaimed balances in CDM
4	Unclaimed balances in Nostro accounts
5	Unclaimed balances lying in Suspense account - Unreconciled
6	Unclaimed balances -Others
	Total

Guiding Notes:

1. The closing balance must match with figures appearing in the respective GL balances