Canada's central bank doesn't have the capacity to track down everyone who has unclaimed cash, so it set up a service that allows people to check for themselves. Brooke Cagle (Unsplash)
There is nearly $900 million in Canada chilling in unclaimed bank accounts—a number that has more than doubled in the past 10 years—and the Bank of Canada wants people to claim their money ASAP.The central bank doesn’t have the resources to track down every account holder, so it set up an online service that allows people to check if they or a loved one has unclaimed cash sitting around.This begs the question: how on earth does someone lose track of money? In this economy?
“Generally speaking, the most common reasons that people lose track of their accounts is because of relocation, a significant life event such as a divorce or, unfortunately, death,” Rebecca Spence, a Bank of Canada spokesperson, told the National Post.That means your dead grandparents (RIP) might have left behind a healthy sum of cash, and it’s just sitting there, idly waiting for you to get your greasy hands on it.I have student debt, so I immediately checked to see if an ex had enough dormant money stashed away to pay me back for a few months of rent. (He doesn’t, but maybe yours does!)
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The registry is easy to use. Click the link, type a name, and scroll through the list of results. Obviously, it’s more fun to play if you’re, like, a white, eighth-generation Canadian. My unusual immigrant name didn’t pull up any results, but common names like “Peter Smith” and “John Anderson” generate several dormant accounts, with balances ranging from $4 to more than $1,000.As of December 31, the central bank was holding more than 2 million unclaimed balances worth $888 million. The money belongs either to individuals or businesses, and has sat untouched for at least 10 years.No one knows why unclaimed funds have ballooned over the past decade, but according to legislation that came into effect in 2007, banks are required to hold dormant funds for a decade before surrendering them to the central bank. The central bank then holds accounts with less than $1,000 for 30 years and accounts worth more than $1,000 for a century before releasing the funds.No one at VICE Canada had any unclaimed dollars.Follow Anya Zoledziowski on Twitter.