Customer Service Standards: A committee headed by former deputy governor BP Kangu has submitted its report to the RBI to improve customer service standards in banks and other RBI regulated entities. This committee has suggested in its report that any such institution which is regulated by RBI should be fined if deficiencies in customer services are found there. Along with this, RBI should also consider making a charter for the rights of the customer, as well as reviewing it from time to time and updating it. RBI has put the report of the committee on the website and has sought suggestions from stakeholders through e-mail by July 7, 2023.
The committee recommended that the RBI may consider extending the charter for customer rights to non-banking financial companies as well. The Committee recommended that the Indian Banks’ Association may update its Model Operating Procedure (MOP) in line with this regulation to eliminate the difficulties faced by the account holders in claiming the amount held in the accounts in case of death. If the nomination already exists in the account, the amount should be released immediately after submitting the documents.
The Committee recommended that nomination should be made mandatory in deposit accounts so that settlement of claims in case of death of the account holder is possible without any hassle. The committee said that at present there is no nominee in many accounts. In such a situation, the regulated entity may be asked to obtain the name of the nominee within 3 years. The Committee said that such a facility should be started so that the nominee or legal heir can claim online. Online facility should have the facility of verification after submission of online documents. And there should be a provision for settlement of claims within 30 days from the date of document submission.
The committee said that there should be a provision for claim settlement within the stipulated time even after submitting the documents offline. And if the regulated entity takes more than 30 days in claim settlement, the amount should be returned to the nominee with two percent more interest than the fixed interest on the deposit. The Committee recommended that regulated entities should take necessary steps to update KYC at regular intervals. However, it should be ensured that in its absence the operation in the account is not stopped.
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