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RALEIGH – For the fourth year in a row, the Unclaimed Property Division (UPD) of the Department of State Treasurer (DST) has smashed the record for returning unclaimed money, putting over $115 million back into the pockets of the rightful owners, State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, announced on Sept. 5.

“At the Department of State Treasurer (DST) we have established a culture to enhance accountability, maximize talent, innovate and enhance operations, reduce complexity, increase value and provide certainty. Repeated, record-setting performances in our Unclaimed Property Division is one shining example of that success,” Treasurer Folwell said.

Money that has become undeliverable for a variety of reasons is safeguarded at DST until the rightful owners claim it. There are presently 22.3 million properties representing $1.3 billion waiting to be claimed.

Under Treasurer Folwell, the cash-back program, commonly called NCCash.com, has become one of the highest-profile and popular programs he oversees, with escalating numbers telling the story. Since he took office in 2017, UPD has returned $610.5 million on 885,691 claims. By comparison, those figures were $393.3 million on 333,294 claims filed during his predecessor’s eight-year tenure.

For the fiscal year 2023-24 that ended on June 30, UPD paid 145,032 claims totaling $115,063,782. The total payout surpassed the previous record of $108,586,650 set during the 2022-23 fiscal year. Although the number of claims paid was about 48,000 lower last year than the record 193,319 claims paid in 2022-23, that indicates that recipients received a payment that was larger on average.

Another record was set for receipts in the NCCash program — $330,957,377 in 2023-24, compared to $300,095,512 the previous year.