Rural cooperative banks have been brought under the purview of the RBI Ombudsman Scheme, extending these enhanced customer protection services to a wider customer base
RBI Ombudsman: Banking complaints rose 32.81 percent to 9.34 lakh between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, with loans and advances topping the list.
RBL bank had the highest number of complaints per branch among scheduled commercial banks. AU Small finance bank had the most among SFBs.
RBL Bank had highest complaints per branch amongst private banks at 6.52. Among public sector banks, RBI received 1.61 complaints per branch against the SBI, which is highest amongst public sector banks.
The RBI annual report further added that 7,03,544 complaints were received at the ORBIOs (RBI Ombudsman ).
An aggrieved customer has to start by filing a written complaint with the regulated entity (RE), such as a bank or non-banking finance company. If the complaint is rejected by the RE, it is automatically sent to the Internal Ombudsman of the RE. Thereafter, if the customer wants, he/she can reach out to the RBI Ombudsman for relief.
According to the report released on December 27, public sector banks received 1,02,144 complaints through the ombudsman in 2022-23, while private sector banks received 73,764 complaints
The RBI (Credit Card and Debit Card - Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2022 shall apply to all Scheduled Banks (except Payments Banks, State Co-operative Banks, and District Central Cooperative Banks) as well as all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) operating in India.
Under the RB-IOS, the complaints would be received online via the Complaint Management System (CMS) wesbite, through email or at one address at CRPC, RBI, Chandigarh.
A unified ombudsman scheme will encompass customer grievance across different RBI regulated entities.