What the guidelines are
The CBN issued its Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances and Other Financial Assets on 19 July 2024. They put Section 72 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 into practice and replace the 2015 guidelines.
On 12 March 2026 the CBN issued a revising circular. It changed how dormant accounts are reactivated and tightened how institutions publish the names behind dormant balances. Both are covered below.
When an account counts as dormant
An account is dormant when the customer has not started a transaction for a set period. Commentary on the 2024 guidelines puts the minimum at one year. Check the current CBN text for the period that applies to each account type, because the wording on current and savings accounts differs between summaries.
The rules reach more than savings and current accounts. Term deposits, domiciliary accounts, prepaid card and wallet accounts, and unclaimed salaries are all in scope. Accounts under litigation or investigation, and accounts with a lien or collateral, are excluded.
Notices and publication
- Tell customers promptly when an account goes inactive, and again every quarter.
- Publish the list of dormant accounts on your website six months before any transfer.
- Under the March 2026 circular, publish annually in at least two national dailies. If the list is too long for two full pages, a one-page notice can point readers to a searchable page on your site.
- Each entry shows the account holder’s name, the account type, the institution and the branch address. Institutions without a website publish through their industry association.
The CBN cited Section 25(1)(b) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and Section 72(11) of BOFIA 2020 as the legal basis for naming account holders.
The ten-year transfer to the CBN
Balances that stay dormant for at least ten years move to the CBN’s Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) pool account. Transfers run quarterly, within 15 days of each new quarter, and institutions keep their records for at least ten years after a transfer.
Money in the pool is not gone. The owner, or a legal representative, can still claim it through the institution. The CBN refunds the principal and accrued interest.
Reactivation, and the affidavit change
A customer can ask to reactivate a dormant account, and the institution has to do it within three working days at no charge. The March 2026 circular removed the affidavit requirement for accounts that have not yet been transferred to the UBTF pool. Institutions must still carry out enhanced due diligence and check that the customer’s information is accurate.
An affidavit is still required to reclaim money that has already moved to the pool.
How big the problem is
NIBSS reported more than 19.69 million dormant accounts in Nigeria in 2024. Most are not abandoned on purpose. Some belong to people who changed phones, moved abroad or switched banks. Some belong to people who have died, and no one told the bank.
The gap the rules do not close
A dormant flag tells you an account has been quiet. It does not tell you why, and it does not tell you who to ask. The guidelines set the clock and the notices. They do not give a bank anyone to call when the customer stops answering.
That is where a next-of-kin register helps. If each customer has named people they trust, with consent on record, your team has someone to reach during the quiet period. A human reviews any handover first, and the next of kin receive information only, never money. Your institution stays responsible for meeting its own obligations under the guidelines. See how this works for banks and fintechs.
A short checklist for compliance teams
- Confirm the dormancy period your system applies to each account type against the current CBN text.
- Schedule quarterly customer notices and the six-month website publication before any transfer.
- Update reactivation steps to drop the affidavit for accounts not yet transferred, and keep the enhanced due diligence step.
- Check that your annual newspaper and website notices carry the fields the March 2026 circular lists.
- Decide who your team contacts when a quiet customer does not respond, and store that with the customer’s consent.
Common questions
How long before a bank account is dormant in Nigeria?
Commentary on the CBN 2024 guidelines puts the minimum at one year without a customer-initiated transaction. The exact period can depend on the account type, so check the current CBN text.
What happens to a dormant account after ten years?
The balance moves to the CBN’s Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund pool. The owner or a legal representative can still claim it through the bank, with the principal and accrued interest refunded by the CBN.
Do I need an affidavit to reactivate a dormant account?
Not any more for accounts the bank still holds. A March 2026 CBN circular dropped the affidavit for accounts not yet transferred to the UBTF pool. It is still required to reclaim funds already transferred.
Is reactivating a dormant account free?
Yes. The guidelines require the institution to reactivate the account within three working days of the request, at no charge.
Sources
- TheCable: Understanding CBN guidelines on dormant accounts and unclaimed assets
- Nairametrics: CBN revises dormant account guidelines, drops affidavit requirement (14 March 2026)
- BusinessDay: CBN relaxes dormant account rules with affidavit requirement removal
- Mondaq (T&A Legal): Unclaimed funds in Nigeria, regulations, rights and recovery
- Central Bank of Nigeria: dormant account guidelines