Do You Know Where To Check For Unclaimed Bank Balances In Canada?

According to the Bank of Canada, "at the end of December 2009, approximately 1,122,000 unclaimed balances, worth some $395 million, were on the Bank's books. Over 93.4% of these were under $1,000.00, representing 30.82% of the total value outstanding. The oldest balance dates back to 1900."

That's a lot of money sitting around in Canada's federal bank. Where does this money come from? These funds are bank accounts that have not been closed;have been inactive for 10 years and the owners cannot be found. The funds are then transferred to the Bank Of Canada and if the balance is less than $1000 the funds are held for another 30 years. If the balance is over $1000 the funds are held for a 100 years.

Although the majority of unclaimed balances are less than $1000, it may be worth investigating to determine whether some of the money belongs to you. Would you turn down $500 that rightfully belonged to you? It never hurts to have a little extra cash in your pocket and searching is a free service offered by the Bank of Canada. And who knows, maybe you have a larger balance.

So, Where do you begin your investigation? Simply click on the unclaimed balances link below,enter your name in the search box and hit enter. It's that simple.