Banking News– The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has stepped up efforts to reduce the number of dormant bank accounts across banks and financial institutions amid a growing trend of fraud involving inactive accounts.

In a recently issued circular, the central bank instructed banks and financial institutions to play a more proactive role in minimizing dormant accounts. As part of the directive, institutions have been asked to prepare and implement dedicated action plans aimed at reducing the number of inactive accounts under their management.

According to the NRB, these action plans must be put into effect by the end of Poush (mid-January). Previously, there was no formal regulatory requirement for banks to develop specific strategies to reduce dormant accounts. The central bank has now made it mandatory for financial institutions to adopt structured measures to address the issue.

The circular also requires banks and financial institutions to encourage customers to reactivate their dormant accounts. To do so, they must send reminders via SMS and email at least once every six months, requesting account holders to reactivate their inactive accounts.