What data must the depositor disclose to the bank for the insurance to be enforced and paid?

At least three pieces of information must be provided, based on which the person or organisation lodging the deposit can be clearly identified and found. Private individuals and self-employed business owners must give at least their name, address, and at the discretion of the bank, ID (passport) number, mother’s maiden name, or date of birth. Businesses must state their name, address of registered office and tax number.

In your own interests we recommend that if your deposit document has less than the three minimum pieces of identification data listed above, ask your bank to supplement the data.
We also suggest that you should report any changes in this data, for example a change in address.
If someone fails to report the changes they still remain entitled to indemnification, however, difficulties in processing and checking data may mean that it takes longer for them to receive their money.

Important! Since 19 December 2001 it has not been possible to place a deposit without giving the personal identification data. In accordance with the Act on Money Laundering, banks must record the prescribed data on the depositor when accepting the deposit, or when the certificate is first presented in the case of deposits previously lodged as bearer deposits. In this publication we have only mentioned those identification data which are significant in terms of the Fund.

Once a deposit is frozen, what must a client do to receive the money as soon as possible?

Besides the bank, the Fund is also obliged to inform depositors. Based on current practice, daily press and announcements provide information on where indemnity claims can be submitted and when the payments start. On this basis the depositor must submit the indemnity claim at the designated location. The claim will be checked by the Fund with the bank’s records then the depositor will receive notification on where and when the money will be available.

How soon do insured clients receive payment?

The Fund must start repaying deposits within 15 days after they were frozen or after the bank’s operational licence was withdrawn, or after the bank’s liquidation was announced, and complete the proceedings within three months. By this deadline the Fund must pay the rightful claims submitted. Under justified circumstances, the indemnity period may be extended for a further three months on two occasions. Remember: there can be no financial obstacle to any payment.
The Act enables the Fund to make the payments in the most rational and fastest manner possible. For example using an “NDIF Deposit Insurance Card”, bank or postal transfer, direct payment through a paying agent – e.g. bank. The payment methods on offer to depositors, which are generally optional, are always included in the announcements of the Fund.

Do deposit insurance claims ever expire?

Deposit insurance claims can be made for as long as the original claim could have been recovered from the bank. Savings deposits, for example, do not expire, while other deposit claims are valid for five years, provided the contract does not stipulate a shorter deadline. Certificates of deposit expire after ten years following the passing of the payment deadline, bond claims do not expire. However, registered certificates of deposit and bonds issued by banks are only insured if they were purchased after 1 January 2003.

Apart from this publication, how can you find out what is insured and what is not?

If a deposit is not covered by the insurance provided by the Fund, then the following text must be indicated in a conspicuous place in the contract (on the deposit document): “The deposit forming the subject of this contract is not insured under Act CXII of 1996 on Credit Institutions and Financial Enterprises.”

Even if you do not see this text, ask whether the type of savings is insured, since the text could be absent from the document because the type of savings in question is not a deposit but a security, which is not insured.

Guidance in deposit insurance issues is also available on the telephone information service in Hungarian on the following number: + 36 (1) 4-918-918. It is good to know that if a bank fails, the telephone service is supplemented with up-to-date information on the frozen deposits.