No, the Illinois RUUPA does not require a bank to establish customer contact at the time of renewal. To prevent an automatically renewing CD from becoming unclaimed, the owner also can indicate an interest in the account, which prevents the presumed abandonment period from running.

As your question suggests, valid indications of interest include activities on other accounts held at your bank, provided that your books and records show the same mailing address for both accounts. Also, a CD owner may orally communicate an indication of interest, provided that your bank “contemporaneously makes and preserves a record” of the oral communication. Other indications of interest would include logging in to an online banking portal to check the CD balance and the presentment of a check representing a CD interest payment, if your institution pays interest by check.

However, signing a onetime consent form at account opening will not suffice as an ongoing indication of interest in the CD. If there has been no indication of interest since the time of account opening, a signature on a onetime consent form will not prevent the CD from becoming unclaimed property after the three-year presumed abandonment period runs. 

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-201(6) (“When property presumed abandoned. Subject to Section 15-210, the following property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the apparent owner during the period specified below: . . . (6) a demand, savings, or time deposit, 3 years after the later of maturity or the date of the last indication of interest in the property by the apparent owner, except for a deposit that is automatically renewable, 3 years after its initial date of maturity unless the apparent owner consented in a record on file with the holder to renewal at or about the time of the renewal; . . .”)

• Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-210(a) (“The period after which property is presumed abandoned is measured from the later of: (1) the date the property is presumed abandoned under this Article; or (2) the latest indication of interest by the apparent owner in the property.”)

• Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-210(f) (“If the apparent owner has another property with the holder to which Section 201(6) applies, then activity directed by an apparent owner in any other accounts, including loan accounts, at a financial organization holding an inactive account of the apparent owner shall be an indication of interest in all such accounts if: (A) the apparent owner engages in one or more of the following activities:

(i) the apparent owner undertakes one or more of the actions described in subsection (b) of this Section regarding any account that appears on a consolidated statement with the inactive account;

(ii) the apparent owner increases or decreases the amount of funds in any other account the apparent owner has with the financial organization; or

(iii) the apparent owner engages in any other relationship with the financial organization, including payment of any amounts due on a loan; and

(B) the foregoing apply so long as the mailing address for the apparent owner in the financial organization’s books and records is the same for both the inactive account and the active account.”)

• Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-210(b) (“Under this Act, an indication of an apparent owner’s interest in property includes: . . . (2) an oral communication by the apparent owner to the holder or agent of the holder concerning the property or the account in which the property is held, if the holder or its agent contemporaneously makes and preserves a record of the fact of the apparent owner’s communication