How to check if you have unclaimed money in a Canadian bank

Millions of dollars are sitting right now in unclaimed bank accounts.

At the end of last year, the Bank of Canada was holding approximately 1.8 million unclaimed balances worth $678 million.

“The biggest balance we have on our banks right now is about $800,000,” said the Bank of Canada’s Josianne Menard.

If a bank account has been dormant for 10 years, the balance is turned over to the Bank of Canada. Unclaimed balances of less than $1,000 are held for 30 years. Amounts more than $1,000 are held for 100 years.

“There’s a lot of money out there that people simply forgot about,” Menard said.

To find out if you have missing money, go to the Bank of Canada website, search for unclaimed balances and type in your name.

If you have money waiting for you, fill out the forms and the funds should arrive in 10 to 12 weeks.

If the money continues to go unclaimed after three decades, or 100 years for larger balances, it ends up in federal coffers.

Since 2006, $9.1 million in unclaimed cash has been handed over to the feds.