A dormant account is an account that has had no customer-initiated activity for a certain period of time.
- Customer-initiated activity includes logging in, making deposits or withdrawals, transferring funds, or using your debit card.
- System-generated activities like interest accrual do not count as activity.
Dormancy matters because financial institutions are required by law to safeguard inactive accounts and eventually turn over unclaimed funds to the state if the owner cannot be reached. This process is called escheatment.