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A very big and serious news is coming out from the banking sector across the country at this time, which is very important for every common citizen who operates his bank account or uses some financial service. In the last few months, India’s central bank i.e. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has received a huge number of customer complaints against various commercial banks, private banks and financial institutions of the country, after which the banking regulator has taken a very tough stance. Complaints were continuously being lodged by bank customers that their small problems like debited money from ATM card, wrong transactions, loan related disputes, delay in KYC updates and irresponsible attitude of bank employees are not being resolved on time. Taking these increasing complaints very seriously, RBI has issued a strict and clear instruction to all the major banks of the country to immediately make comprehensive improvements in their Internal Customer Service System (Internal Grievance Redressal System). After this warning of the Central Bank, there has been a stir in the banking corridors and all the banks have now started efforts to improve their digital and manual support systems so that the increasing dissatisfaction of the customers can be stopped.
It has become clear from the data released by the Reserve Bank of India and the feedback received on consumer forums that as the scope of digital banking is increasing in the country, the technical and service related problems of the customers are also increasing in the same proportion. When today’s bank customer transfers money through a mobile app and his money gets stuck due to the server being down, his anger reaches sky high when he does not get satisfactory help from the customer care of the bank. Apart from this, hidden charges on credit cards, imposition of insurance policies without permission, lack of transparency in loan accounts and indifferent attitude of staff despite long queues at bank branches are common problems that every other bank account holder faces every day. RBI is extremely concerned about the fact that on one hand the country is being taken towards Digital India and cashless economy, on the other hand the poor grievance redressal system of banks is weakening the trust of the general public. The Central Governor and senior officials have made it clear in several meetings that banks are not mere profit making institutions, but their primary responsibility is to provide transparent, secure and prompt services to their customers.
In this era of digital revolution, on one hand Google Pay, PhonePe and Net Banking have made our lives very easy, on the other hand problems like technical glitches and server failure have become a headache for the customers. When money is deducted from a customer’s account without his knowledge or he calls the bank’s helpline when he becomes a victim of online fraud, he has to spend hours in the maze of IVR and ultimately does not get any real solution. The strict instructions from RBI specifically emphasize that banks have to make their customer care services completely human and sensitive, where instead of robotic or automated responses, trained staff listen to customer problems on priority basis. Banks have also been instructed to strengthen their digital infrastructure so much that in case of server down, transactions are automatically reversed safely or customers get immediate updates. If banks do not correct these technical and human deficiencies in time, they may have to face heavy fines and punitive action from RBI.
India today ranks among the countries with the highest number of digital transactions in the world, and the common citizens of the country have played a huge role in reaching this milestone. But this success is meaningful only as long as every bank customer feels that his money and his data are completely safe and that his bank stands with him in case of any dispute. When banks ignore customer complaints or keep cases pending for months, people start losing confidence in the banking system, which can ultimately become a major threat to the financial stability of the country. This latest intervention by RBI is being considered a huge and historic step towards restoring this trust. Banking experts believe that if all banks follow the RBI guidelines sincerely, not only will the graph of complaints come down rapidly, but a positive and customer-friendly change will also be seen in the banking culture of the country.
In this strict order, RBI has also warned the banks to ensure disposal of pending complaints within a stipulated time frame, otherwise they will have to face penalty from the regulator. Also, the central bank has also made the customers aware and advised that if their bank does not resolve their problem on time, they can directly lodge their complaint on the ‘Banking Ombudsman’ portal of RBI. In the coming days, it will be very important to see whether all the small and big banks of the country are able to win the hearts of the customers by improving their functioning or not. This is a relief news for every bank customer that the country’s top financial regulator is fully prepared to protect their rights and is leaving no stone unturned to crack down on negligent banks.