Loans, cards and digital banking dominate complaints to RBI Ombudsman in FY25: RBI report

Reserve Bank of India

Complaints received by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Ombudsman offices rose marginally in 2024-25, with issues related to loans and advances, credit cards and digital banking accounting for the bulk of grievances, according to the RBI’s Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2024-25 report.

The Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) received about 29.6 lakh complaints during 2024-25, marking an increase of 0.8 percent over the previous year. A majority of these complaints originated from metropolitan and urban centres.

Public sector banks (PSBs) and private sector banks together accounted for over 72 percent of total complaints. Among complaint categories, loans and advances, credit cards, mobile/electronic banking and deposit accounts together contributed close to four-fifths of total complaints handled by the ombudsman during the year.

Entity-wise data show that private sector banks attracted the highest share of complaints in credit cards, while public sector banks accounted for the largest share of complaints related to loans and advances. In digital channels, including mobile and internet banking, complaints were largely split between public and private sector lenders, with smaller shares attributed to payments banks and foreign banks.

Complaints relating to ATM and debit card services also remained significant, with PSBs facing a relatively higher proportion of grievances in this category compared with private lenders. Issues classified under ‘others’, which include remittances, para-banking services and pension payments, were again dominated by complaints against public and private sector banks.