Customers will soon be able to view bank deposit information alongside their investments through the Consolidated Account Statement (CAS). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-regulated depositories to include bank deposit information in the CAS through NBFC-Account Aggregators (AAs). This will came into effect from January 1, 2027.

On Wednesday, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the move will enable demat account holders to keep information related to their demat holdings and bank deposits in one place.

What is already included in CAS?

Currently, mutual fund and stock market investors receive a CAS every month that consolidates transaction details across mutual fund schemes and securities held in demat form under a single Permanent Account Number (PAN). Retirement savings through the National Pension System (NPS), regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), have also been integrated into the CAS.

Bank deposits, however, have so far remained outside this consolidated view.

What new information will bank deposits add?

The integration is expected to bring information on bank deposits into the consolidated statement. According to industry experts, fixed deposits (FDs) and recurring deposits (RDs) will be covered.

“The basis being all investments is sought to be consolidated in one dashboard for the customer. Savings accounts are high velocity accounts and technically not considered as investment,” said Venkatesh Krishnamoorti, founder of SAAFE Account Aggregator.

This means savings account not will automatically appear in the CAS in the same way as investment products.

“A significant advantage of the Common Account Statement is enhanced transparency. An investor could have fixed deposits spread across multiple banks, as well as their other investments like mutual funds and stocks held elsewhere. By consolidating everything in one place, the investor is able to evaluate their overall investments and make educated choices regarding them,” said Piyush Junjunwala, founder, Stockify.

The practical benefit, therefore, is a broader consolidated view of financial holdings, although the extent of information available will depend on the accounts and banks participating in the Account Aggregator framework.

What will still not appear?

The addition of bank deposits does not mean the CAS will become a complete record of everything a person owns.

Industry experts said that Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF), post-office savings, small-savings schemes, physical gold, property, insurance policies outside the repository and other financial assets not connected to the Account Aggregator (AA)/Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) ecosystem will continue to remain outside the CAS.

“Another thing to note is that the CAS cannot be regarded as a full register of all assets owned by a person. The assets such as real estate and physical gold will still have to be controlled separately from CAS. It may also lack full coverage of insurance and financial products depending on its development,” Junjunwala said.

Do customers need to do anything to get this?

The integration will work through the Account Aggregator framework, which is based on customer consent. According to experts, customers will have to provide consent for their financial information to be shared through the framework.

“Account Aggregation’s foundation is consent-based. The customer would be sent a link to discover, link and approve the consent for National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), as a Financial Information User (FIU), to fetch and display in their CAS. For example, there is already a link that is provided in CAS for linking the NPS account,” said Krishnamoorti.

Consumers should therefore not assume that all their bank accounts will automatically appear in the CAS from January 1.

“It is important to note that just because this integration is happening, it does not guarantee that all bank accounts will appear in the CAS. The integration will be made possible through the Account Aggregator framework, which involves having the customer's permission to share financial data. Moreover, the amount of information depends on the participating banks and accounts connected in the system,” Junjunwala said.

The RBI has said the aim is to bring information from banks that are already onboarded first, with other banks being added over time.

This means the usefulness of the consolidated view will initially depend on which banks and accounts are connected to the system and whether the customer has provided the required consent, said experts.

Can this help families find forgotten deposits?

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the consolidated view could help address cases where bank deposits are lost or become unclaimed, particularly after the account holder dies.

“We see a lot of cases of bank deposits getting lost, especially when people die, so this will help address that because you have one consolidated view,” he said.

The CAS could therefore make it easier for families to identify financial holdings that they may otherwise not know about. However, identifying an asset and gaining access to it are two different things.

“Once linked, the CAS will continue to fetch and display (till the consent expiry date) all financial investments held, as long as the heirs/nominees have access to the CAS. The decision to provide such access (CAS gets delivered by email to the registered email id of beneficial owner of those investments) is beyond NSDL or AA scope,” Krishnamoorti said.

For nominees and heirs, the CAS could thus help establish that a deposit or investment exists, but it should not be treated as automatic access to the underlying money. Banks and other financial institutions may still require the applicable nominee, succession or claim process to be completed.