Banks and building societies with balance sheets valued above £7bn are eligible to join the Main Scheme (although smaller entities can opt to join this rather than the Alternative Scheme). Organisations that choose to participate (‘participants’), can transfer money from dormant current and savings accounts to RFL after a period of 15 years since the last contact with the account holder.
By doing so, a participant’s liability for customer reclaims is transferred to RFL. RFL (in compliance with the Dormant Assets Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 to and the Dormant Assets Act 2022) ensures that the account holders’, or their beneficiaries, right to reclaim their money, at any time, is protected in perpetuity. Account holders reclaim their funds from the organisation with which they held an account, which is in turn reimbursed by RFL. RFL transfers surplus funds (i.e. funds that are not required to meet future reclaims) to The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes these amounts to good causes across the UK
How the Main Scheme works
To find out more about joining the Main Scheme please click here.