SBI will close inoperative zero-balance savings accounts: how to update KYC and keep yours
SBI's notice of 8 October 2026 says unused savings accounts with nil balance for over a year will be closed if KYC is not updated within a month.
State Bank of India has put up a public notice for people with old savings accounts they no longer use. The notice is dated 8 October 2026 and is on SBI's website. It was reported by UNI on 24 October 2026. If you have an SBI account you have forgotten about, here is what it means.
What the notice says
The notice is for holders of SBI regular savings accounts that have become "inoperative" because there was no transaction in them for the past 2 years. SBI asks them to update their KYC. Inoperative accounts that have had a nil balance for more than 1 year will be closed one month after the notice, without any further message, if KYC is not updated in that month.
The notice is dated 8 October 2026, so the one-month window ends around 8 November 2026. SBI has not given a separate closure date.
Which accounts can be closed
Under SBI's Policy on Depositors' Rights (version 7.0, May 2026), an account is closed only when both of these are true:
- It is inoperative: you have made no transaction of your own in it for over 2 years.
- Its balance has been zero for more than 1 year.
The policy leaves out:
- Savings accounts opened for financial inclusion, such as basic savings bank deposit accounts.
- Accounts with a hold, stop or lien marked on the orders of the government, a court or an enforcement agency.
- Accounts under an enquiry or investigation.
- Accounts where the same customer also has a fixed deposit or a loan with SBI.
SBI runs this closure exercise once every six months, the policy says. An account with money in it is not closed under this rule.
What counts as a transaction
SBI counts something you do yourself. That includes a cash deposit or withdrawal, a NEFT, RTGS or NACH payment, or a dividend credit. It also includes a successful login to SBI internet banking or the YONO app, an enquiry at an ATM that needs your PIN, or a KYC update.
How to keep your account
- Update KYC. Visit any SBI branch with your KYC documents, or use internet banking, the YONO app, an SBI ATM or WhatsApp Banking, as the notice says.
- Use the account once. After KYC, make a small deposit or a transaction so it shows activity.
- Check where the account number is used. If a salary, a refund, a pension or a government benefit is still paid into it, a closed account means that money will not reach you.
SBI charges nothing to activate an inoperative account, and it does not charge a minimum balance penalty on an inoperative account. Activation needs only the KYC update, no debit, and a request is processed within three working days of a complete application, under SBI's policy and its reactivation page.
Watch out for fake KYC messages
Fraudsters often send "your SBI account will be closed, update KYC now" messages with a link. SBI's notice points only to its branches, YONO, internet banking, ATMs and WhatsApp Banking. Do not click links in SMS or WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers, and never share an OTP or PIN to "update KYC". You can report a fraud on the 1930 helpline or at cybercrime.gov.in.
If you do not want the account any more, you can let it close. A zero-balance account has no money to lose. If an old account still has money in it after 10 years, it is shown in SBI's list of unclaimed accounts and in RBI's UDGAM portal.
Sources: SBI: Public notice on closure of inoperative regular savings bank accounts, 8 October 2026 (PDF), SBI: Policy on Depositors' Rights, version 7.0 (PDF), SBI: Process of reactivation of inoperative accounts, UNI: SBI warns of closure of inoperative zero-balance savings accounts, 24 October 2026.
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