In only one week's time, the Belgian finance ministry received 1,505 requests to pay out money from dormant accounts. A total of 1.7 million euros was paid out. By comparison, the government department normally processes around 300 requests per month. The sharp increase comes after the announcement that the De Wever I government wants to be able to transfer money from dormant accounts to the treasury more quickly.
A bank account is considered “dormant” if you have had no contact with your bank for five years and/or if you have not carried out any transactions during that period. People are often unaware that they possess such a dormant account.
If the money remains untouched for 30 years, it is transferred to the Belgian treasury. Finance Minister Jambon (Flemish nationalist N-VA) now wants to change this and reduce the limitation period to 5 years.
Media attention causes rush on cash
The change and the accompanying media attention clearly had an effect. ‘Many people have gone to the government portal MyMinfin to see if they have any dormant accounts,’ says Francis Adyns of the finance ministry.
‘The system is designed in such a way that if you have a dormant account, you can easily claim the money. And that's what happened on a massive scale.’
In just one week, the finance ministry received no fewer than 1,505 requests for payment. By way of comparison, in 2024 there were an average of 310 requests per month.
The system to request cash from dormant accounts has been in place for years. ‘But thanks to the media attention, it seems that many people have discovered the possibility of consulting it and requesting their money back.’
Checking and requesting via MyMinfin
Adyns emphasises that anyone can check whether they are the holder of a dormant account.
The easiest way is to log in to your own finance ministry account via MyMinfin. Then click on “My payments” at the top and then on “Consult my dormant balances”. If there is a dormant account, you can also request a refund via the links there.
You can also submit a request by e-mail. To do so, send this request form and a copy of your identity card to info.cdcdck@minfin.fed.be.
People who are certain that they have a dormant credit balance but cannot see it on MyMinfin can also submit a request. In that case, you will of course need to provide the necessary proof.