Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/269 · issued 17 Sep 2013 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI mandates RRBs to analyze customer complaints for systemic issues, disclose complaint and Banking Ombudsman award data with financial results, and not transfer unreconciled ATM credit balances to P&L.
The rule, in the simplest words
RRBs must read all customer complaints, find the most common problems, and show this list to the Board or Customer Service Committee (the group of top managers who decide how to fix things).
RRBs have to share how many complaints are still pending, how many have been solved, and any Banking Ombudsman awards that they have not yet acted on, together with their yearly financial results (the bank’s profit and loss report).
RRBs cannot move money that customers were accidentally credited in an ATM but that has not been fixed into their profit and loss account; it must stay as a liability until the customer claims it back.
RRBs must publish the complaint analysis and the related details on their website at the end of each financial year (the 12‑month period the bank reports).
How it plays out — a real example
A gold‑loan officer in Indore checks the monthly complaint report and sees that many customers complain about ATM withdrawals not being credited. She presents the list to the Customer Service Committee, keeps the unreconciled ATM balances as liabilities, and ensures the bank’s annual report shows the complaint statistics and the status of any Banking Ombudsman awards.
What changed
RBI now requires RRBs to place a detailed complaint analysis before their Board or Customer Service Committee, identifying frequent issues and systemic gaps. They must also disclose pending and resolved complaints, plus unimplemented Banking Ombudsman awards, alongside financial results. Unreconciled ATM credit balances from failed transactions cannot be transferred to profit and loss account.
What it means for you
RRBs must strengthen grievance redressal by systematically analyzing complaints and reporting them transparently. This increases accountability and helps identify recurring ATM issues. The ban on transferring unreconciled ATM balances to P&L protects customer funds and ensures these remain as liabilities until claimed or reconciled.
What you must do
Set up a process to analyze complaints quarterly for frequent issues, sources, and systemic deficiencies, and present to Board/Customer Service Committee.
Disclose complaint statistics (pending, received, redressed) and Banking Ombudsman award implementation status with annual financial results.
Ensure ATM-related credit balances from failed transactions are not transferred to profit and loss account; keep them as unclaimed balances.
Publish the detailed complaint statement and analysis on your website at the end of each financial year.
Include all ATM card complaints in disclosures, even if transaction was at another bank's ATM; note if attributable to acquiring bank.
Who it affects
All Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Customer service and compliance teams at RRBs, Board members and Customer Service Committees of RRBs
❓ Common questions
What specific complaint data must RRBs disclose with financial results?
RRBs must disclose number of complaints pending at year start, received during year, redressed, and pending at year end. Also, Banking Ombudsman awards unimplemented at start, passed, implemented, and unimplemented at year end.
Can RRBs transfer unreconciled ATM credit balances to profit and loss account?
No. RBI explicitly prohibits transferring such balances (from failed ATM transactions like retraction failures or sensor errors) to P&L. They must be treated as unclaimed balances pending reconciliation or customer claim.
How should RRBs handle complaints about ATM transactions at other banks' ATMs?
Customers must lodge complaints with the card-issuing RRB, even if the ATM belonged to another bank. RRBs must include all such complaints in their disclosures. If the issue can be attributed to the acquiring bank, a note may clarify this.
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2013-14/269
RPCD.CO.RRB.BC.No.35/03.05.33/2013-14
September 17, 2013
The Chairmen
All Regional Rural Banks
Dear Sir/Madam,
Analysis and Disclosure of Customer Complaints and Unreconciled Balances on Account of ATM Transactions
The Committee on Procedures and Performance Audit on Public Services (CPPAPS) had recommended that banks should place a statement before their Boards analyzing the complaints received. CPPAPS had further recommended that the statement of complaints and its analysis should also be disclosed by banks along with their financial results. Further, a suggestion has been received that unimplemented awards of the Banking Ombudsman should also be disclosed alongwith financial results.
2. The matter has been examined in the light of enhancing the effectiveness of the grievance redressal mechanism and RRBs are accordingly advised to place a statement of complaints before their Boards / Customer Service Committees along with an analysis of the complaints received. The complaints should be analysed (i) to identify customer service areas in which the complaints are frequently received; (ii) to identify frequent sources of complaint; (iii) to identify systemic deficiencies; and (iv) for initiating appropriate action to make the grievance redressal mechanism more effective.
3. Further, RRBs are also advised to disclose the following brief details along with their financial results:
A. Customer Complaints
(a)
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/269 · issued 17 Sep 2013. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
Set up a process to analyze complaints quarterly for frequent issues, sources, and systemic deficiencies, and present to Board/Customer Service Committee.
📜 Compliance
Disclose complaint statistics (pending, received, redressed) and Banking Ombudsman award implementation status with annual financial results.
Ensure ATM-related credit balances from failed transactions are not transferred to profit and loss account; keep them as unclaimed balances.
Publish the detailed complaint statement and analysis on your website at the end of each financial year.
Include all ATM card complaints in disclosures, even if transaction was at another bank's ATM; note if attributable to acquiring bank.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template
Example: if you are an IT/Systems lead at a bank this circular applies to (All Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Customer service and compliance teams at RRBs, Board members and Customer Service Committees of RRBs), your first concrete step on “RRBs: Complaint Analysis & ATM Balance Disclosure Rules” is: “Set up a process to analyze complaints quarterly for frequent issues, sources, and systemic deficiencies, and present to Board/Customer Service Committee.” (RBI issued this 17 Sep 2013).
Action required: Set up a process to analyze complaints quarterly for frequent issues, sources, and systemic deficiencies, and present to Board/Customer Service Committee.
Action required: Disclose complaint statistics (pending, received, redressed) and Banking Ombudsman award implementation status with annual financial results.
Action required: Ensure ATM-related credit balances from failed transactions are not transferred to profit and loss account; keep them as unclaimed balances.
Action required: Publish the detailed complaint statement and analysis on your website at the end of each financial year.
Action required: Include all ATM card complaints in disclosures, even if transaction was at another bank's ATM; note if attributable to acquiring bank.
Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.
💬 Banker Discussion
Discuss this circular with fellow bankers — reply, upvote what helps, report what doesn’t belong. Be professional; no client data. Views are the commenter’s own, not BankPulse’s.
BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 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=8432&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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