HomeCirculars › RBI/2008-09/99

RRBs must offer all banking facilities to visually challenged

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2008-09/99 · issued 23 Jul 2008 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI mandates RRBs to provide all banking facilities—cheque books, ATMs, lockers, net banking, retail loans, credit cards—to visually challenged persons without discrimination, citing their legal competence to contract.

What changed

RBI issued a circular on July 23, 2008, directing RRBs to ensure visually challenged persons are not denied any banking facility. This follows a 2005 court order that rejected risk-based denial of services like cheque books, ATMs, and lockers.

What it means for you

RRBs must treat visually challenged customers equally, offering full access to all products and services. Banks cannot cite operational risks as a reason to deny facilities; they must also provide assistance for cash withdrawals and other transactions.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Who it affects

Regional Rural Banks, RRB branch managers and staff, Visually challenged banking customers

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

Can we deny a locker facility to a visually challenged person citing safety risks?

No. The RBI circular, referencing a 2005 court order, states that risk is inherent for all customers and cannot be used to deny services to visually challenged persons.

Are we required to provide assistance for cash withdrawals?

Yes. The circular explicitly directs RRBs to render all possible assistance, including for cash withdrawals, to visually challenged customers.

Does this apply to net banking and credit cards as well?

Yes. The circular lists net banking facility and credit cards among the facilities that must be offered without discrimination.

📜 This document’s life story (1 recorded event, each backed by RBI’s own words)
Repealed by RBI/2025-26/100 — Consolidation of Regulations — Withdrawal of circulars (28 Nov 2025)
RBI’s words: “Official withdrawal register entry #2150: RPCD.CO.RRB.No.BC13/03.05.33/2008-09 — "Banking Facilities to the Visually Challenged" dated July 23, 2008”
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2008-09/99 RPCD.CO.RRB. No. BC 13 /03.05.33/2008-09 July 23, 2008 All Regional Rural Banks Dear Sir, Banking facilities to the visually challenged It has been brought to our notice that visually challenged persons are facing problems in availing banking facilities. It may be noted that banking facilities including cheque book facility / operation of ATM / locker, etc. cannot be denied to the visually challenged  as they are legally competent to contract . 2. In the Case No. 2791/2003, the Honourable Court of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities had passed Orders dated 05.09.2005 ( copy enclosed ) wherein the Honorable Court instructed that banks should offer all the banking facilities including cheque book facility, ATM facility and locker facility to the visually challenged and also assist them in withdrawal of cash. Further, in paragraph 14 of the above Order, the Honorable Court observed that "visually impaired persons cannot be denied the facility of cheque book, locker and ATM on the possibility of risk in operating / using the said facility, as the element of risk is involved in case of other customers as well." 3. RRBs are therefore advised to ensure that all the banking facilities such as cheque book facility including third party cheques, ATM facility, Net banking facility, locker facility, retail loans, credit cards, etc. are invariably offered to the visually challenged  without any discrimination .  RRBs may also advise their branches to render all possible assistance to the visually challenged for availing the various banking facilities. Yours faithfully (G.Srinivasan) Chief General Manager-in-Charge
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2008-09/99 · issued 23 Jul 2008. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 05 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly).
Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=4378&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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