Dormant, inactive and lost bank accounts

If you don't use an account regularly we may class it as inactive, dormant or, in the case of ISAs, non-continuous. We may let you know that one of your accounts is inactive by SMS, email, letter or a banner that appears when you log on to Online Banking. You’ll then have these options:

• keep your account open by making a transaction and using it regularly
• close the account.

A dormant or inactive account is one that hasn't been used for an extended amount of time (typically 2 years). We may prevent unauthorised transactions being made on inactive accounts by:

• freezing inactive accounts that have a credit balance
• closing inactive accounts that have a zero balance.

We’ll continue to send you a statement for your account at least annually.

If you have other accounts with us they won’t be frozen or closed if they’re still in use.

An ISA is non-continuous when it hasn’t been paid into for a full tax year (6 April to 5 April). If all of your accounts are inactive or dormant, we may freeze or close them. This means you’ll no longer be able to make transactions. You can still withdraw from a non-continuous cash ISA if you need the funds.

We all forget things: where we parked the car, friends' birthdays – sometimes we even forget we have money in a bank account. If you've lost a bank account, or it's dormant, we'll move the money into the government's Dormant Assets Scheme after 15 years. We can't look after the money forever, so we take these steps if your account hasn’t been used and we can’t get hold of you. The Dormant Assets Scheme uses the money for good things like community, social and environmental projects.

However, if you have another account with us that is being actively used, we'll leave your money where it is.

If you think you already have an account with us or you've lost a bank account, we can help. 

Call 03 456 100 100.

Please have an account number ready if you have one.