No, customers do not need to access their safe deposit boxes physically in order to keep them active. The new Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) provides several options for property owners to indicate an interest in their property.
An “indication of interest” could include any written communication to the bank from the customer, any oral communication with your customer (provided your bank “contemporaneously makes and preserves a record” of the oral communication), and even your customer logging into an online banking portal. Importantly, the Illinois RUUPA also treats an account as active if there are other active accounts at your institution sharing the same mailing address. For example, if the customer increases or decreases amounts in a deposit account or makes a loan payment, the customer’s safe deposit box property also would be treated as active. And needless to say, payments made to the bank pursuant to the safe deposit box agreement also constitute an indication of interest (unless the payments are made by a previously authorized recurring ACH transfer).
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- 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 1026/15-205 (“Tangible property held in a safe-deposit box are presumed abandoned if the property remains unclaimed by the apparent owner 5 years after the expiration of the lease or rental period for the box.”)
- 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; . . .”)
- Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-210(b) (“Under this Act, an indication of an apparent owner’s interest in property includes: . . . (4) activity directed by an apparent owner in the account in which the property is held, including accessing the account or information concerning the account, or a direction by the apparent owner to increase, decrease, or otherwise change the amount or type of property held in the account; . . .”)
- 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: . . . (5) a deposit into or withdrawal from an account at a financial organization, except for a recurring Automated Clearing House (ACH) debit or credit previously authorized by the apparent owner or an automatic reinvestment of dividends or interest; . . .”)