Last Updated on October 23, 2025 8:22 pm by BIZNAMA NEWS
R. Suryamurthy
From 1st November, bank customers can nominate up to four beneficiaries in their accounts, lockers, and safe custody items, a move aimed at making claim settlements faster, transparent, and dispute-free.
The government’s latest Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, introduces these flexible nomination rules as part of broader reforms to strengthen governance and protect depositors, the Ministry of Finance announced.
The Act, notified on 15th April 2025, introduced 19 amendments across five legislations, including the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and the State Bank of India Act, 1955. The government had earlier enforced certain provisions from 1st August 2025.
Under the new nomination rules, depositors will gain greater flexibility and clarity in specifying beneficiaries, ensuring uniformity, transparency, and efficiency in claim settlements.
Key features include:
• Multiple Nominations: Customers can nominate up to four persons, either simultaneously or successively.
• Simultaneous Nominations: Nominees’ shares can be specified in percentages, totaling 100%, enabling clear distribution.
• Successive Nominations: Next-in-line nominees become operative only after the death of higher-ranked nominees, ensuring continuity.
• Applicability: Simultaneous or successive nominations are allowed for deposit accounts, while only successive nominations are permitted for safe custody articles and lockers.
The Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 2025, which will detail the procedures and forms for making or modifying nominations, will be published shortly to standardize implementation across banks.
The amendment Act also aims to strengthen governance standards, enhance depositor and investor protection, improve audit quality in public sector banks, and rationalize director tenures in cooperative banks.
With these changes, the government seeks to simplify nominee processes, reduce disputes, and improve overall customer convenience in the banking sector.