Dormant Bank Account Nepal: Rules & Charges

Updated August 2026. Rules below are from Nepal Rastra Bank’s Unified Directives 2082. NRB amends these by circular — a further round of dormant-account reforms was reported in July 2026, so confirm current practice at your branch.

You stopped using an old account years ago. Now you need it, and the app says the account is inactive. Or you noticed the balance quietly shrinking and assumed the bank was charging you for falling below the minimum. One of those is normal. The other is not allowed.

When Your Account Goes Dormant

Account type	Goes dormant after
Savings account	3 years with no transaction
Current account	1 year with no transaction
Call account	1 year with no transaction

You may see “six months” quoted for current accounts on some bank pages. The directive says one year. Where a bank’s own page and the directive disagree, ask the bank which it applies — but the directive is the standard.

Reactivating It Must Be Free

⭐ Two rules worth knowing before you go to the branch.
1. No fee may be charged to reactivate a dormant account. The directives prohibit it outright.
2. If your KYC is already up to date, nothing beyond your own application is required — and reactivation may be done with electronic KYC verification rather than a pile of fresh documents.

Reported reforms from July 2026 go further still: banks were directed to prepare dormant-account reduction plans, contact affected customers at least every six months, and allow reactivation and closure from any branch nationwide or through the mobile app. We could not open the underlying circular, so treat the detail as reported — but it is the direction to expect.

If you are asked to pay a reactivation charge, ask which line of the bank’s published tariff it comes from. Well-run tariffs do not contain one — the schedule we reviewed has no dormant or reactivation line item at all.

The Minimum Balance Rule Most People Have Backwards

A bank may set a minimum balance. It may not punish you for falling below it. The directives state that a bank cannot deduct from an account and reduce the balance on the grounds that it fell below the minimum — and that interest must still be paid on the amount held as minimum balance.

So if your balance has been dropping without you spending anything, the explanation is not a minimum-balance penalty — that is not permitted. It is more likely a legitimate disclosed charge, and you are entitled to know which one.

Any charge outside the protected list has to be disclosed to you in advance. That is also in the directives. In practice this means you can ask for the specific tariff line for any deduction, and the bank should be able to point to it and to when you were told.

One more that saves cardholders money

For rupee electronic cards, no renewal fee may be charged until the card actually expires — only the initial issuance fee. An annual “renewal” charge on a card that has years left on it is worth querying.

What Happens to Money Left Untouched

Dormancy. The account is flagged after the periods above.
Ten years, zero balance, no transaction. The bank may close the account, after publishing a public notice and posting details on its website.
Ten years dormant. Accounts are reported to NRB in the first month of each fiscal year, and a collection notice is published in a national daily — at least once every five years — and on the bank’s website.
Twenty years unclaimed. The deposit passes to Nepal Rastra Bank’s Banking Development Fund and is used for banking development.

Unclaimed dividends follow a similar path. Dividends left undrawn for five years move to an unclaimed dividend account. If you hold shares from an IPO years ago and never collected, that is worth chasing separately.

The practical point for families: an old account nobody knows about does not stay findable forever. If an elderly relative has accounts at banks the family cannot name, write the list down now. Combined with our guide on claiming a deceased person’s account, that list is what makes the difference between a straightforward claim and money that quietly ends up in a government fund.

🤝 Account gone dormant, or charges you cannot explain?

Tell us what your bank has said and Digital Solution will help you work out whether the charge is permitted and how to raise it if it is not.

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Simple Banking: Services You Can Ask For

A provision that goes unused because customers do not know it exists. Banks are required to provide:

Dedicated counters for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and customers who cannot read.
At least one disability-friendly branch where a bank has more than five branches in a local level.
At least one accessible ATM in each ATM lounge.

If you are helping an elderly parent with banking, asking for the dedicated counter is not a favour you are requesting — it is a service the bank is required to run.

How to Keep an Account Alive

Make one transaction a year. Any genuine debit or credit resets the clock. Interest credited by the bank is not always treated as customer activity — move a small amount yourself.
Keep your mobile number and address current, so the bank can actually reach you before the account is flagged.
Close accounts you do not need. Closure is free, and fewer accounts means fewer things to lose track of.
Keep KYC updated — it is what makes reactivation a one-form job rather than a document hunt.
Write down where your accounts are. For your own record and your family’s.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does a bank account become dormant in Nepal?

After three years without a transaction for a savings account, and one year for a current or call account.

Is there a fee to reactivate a dormant account?

No. The directives prohibit charging for reactivation.

What do I need to reactivate?

If your KYC is up to date, your application alone. Electronic KYC verification is permitted.

Can a bank deduct money because my balance fell below the minimum?

No. Banks cannot reduce your balance on that ground, and must pay interest on the minimum-balance amount.

What happens to an account nobody claims?

Dormant accounts are reported to NRB and publicly noticed; deposits unclaimed for twenty years pass to NRB’s Banking Development Fund.

Does the bank charge to close my account?

No. Account closure is among the services that cannot carry a service charge.

Can my card carry an annual renewal fee?

For rupee electronic cards, no renewal fee may be charged until the card expires — only the initial issuance fee.

How do I stop an account going dormant?

Make at least one genuine transaction a year and keep your contact details current.

Sources

Nepal Rastra Bank Unified Directives 2082 — dormancy periods, reactivation without fee, minimum-balance protection, prior disclosure of charges, card renewal fees, unclaimed deposit handling and simple-banking obligations.
Bank and Financial Institution Act, 2073 — unclaimed deposits passing to the Banking Development Fund.
Reporting on NRB’s July 2026 directive amendment on reducing dormant accounts.

Dormant Bank Account in Nepal: Reactivation, Minimum Balance and Charges You Should Not Pay