RBI ombudsman received maximum complaints about ATM, debit & credit cards in 2022-23

In 2015, the central bank introduced the Internal Ombudsman mechanism in some scheduled commercial banks to boost the efficiency of their internal grievance redressal systems

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received the maximum number of complaints through the ombudsman channel related to ATM, debit card and credit card-related issues in the year 20222-23; according to the report on the trend and progress of banking in India.

According to the report released on December 27, public sector banks received 1,02,144 complaints through the ombudsman in 2022-23 in different categories of which ATM, debit and credit card-related issues stood at 22,817. While issues related to mobile banking and electronic banking stood at 21,328.

A similar trend was noted in the private sector banks. Private sector banks received 73,764 complaints through the Ombudsman Office of which ATM, debit and credit card-related issues stood at 25,085. In foreign banks, complaints for this category stood at 3,182.

The share of the top five categories regarding complaints received for loans and advances, mobile/electronic banking, deposit accounts, credit cards, and ATM/debit cards, increased from 54.7 percent during 2021-22 to 85.8 percent during 2022-23, according to the report.

In 2015, the central bank introduced the Internal Ombudsman mechanism in some scheduled commercial banks to boost the efficiency of their internal grievance redressal systems. The objective was to facilitate fair hearing for customers and review their grievances internally before rejecting the complaints. The framework was later extended to cover select non-bank issuers of pre-paid instruments, NBFCs and all credit information companies.

In recent years, the RBI has announced a host of measures aimed at strengthening the internal grievance redressal frameworks at banks as well as external (RBI-appointed) ombudsman schemes. In June this year, the RBI-instituted BP Kanungo Committee proposed measures to improve customer services at banks, including simpler know-your-customer (KYC) norms and hassle-free settlement of the accounts of deceased deposit holders, among other recommendations.