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The Reserve Bank of India has, over the years, issued various instructions with a focus on enhancing the level of customer service and ensuring fair conduct towards customers by banks. These directions are issued with an aim to consolidate the various regulatory instructions on customer service and conduct aspects issued by the Reserve Bank of India to Small Finance Banks at one place. Accordingly, in exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 21, 35A, 45ZC(3) and 45ZE(4) of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and all other provisions / laws enabling the Reserve Bank of India (hereinafter called the ‘Reserve Bank’) in this regard, the Reserve Bank being satisfied that it is necessary and expedient in the public interest so to do, hereby, issues the Directions hereinafter specified. Chapter I – Preliminary A. Short title and commencement 1. These Directions shall be called the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. 2. These Directions shall come into effect immediately upon issuance, unless indicated otherwise. B. Applicability 3. These Directions shall be applicable to Small Finance Banks (hereinafter collectively referred to as 'banks' and individually as a 'bank'). C. Definitions 4. In these Directions, unless the context states otherwise, the terms herein shall bear the meanings assigned to them below: (1) ‘Accounts with survivorship clause’ means joint deposit accounts styled as ‘either or survivor’, or ‘anyone or survivor’, or ‘former or survivor’ or ‘latter or survivor’ or any other such clause. (2) ‘Apostille’ means a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a judgment, an extract of a register or a notarial attestation). Apostilles can only be issued for documents issued in one country party to the Hague Apostille Convention and that are to be used in another country which is also a party to the Convention. In India, such attestations are done by Ministry of External Affairs. (3) Annual Percentage Rate (APR) means the annual cost of credit to the borrower which includes interest rate and all other charges associated with the credit facility. (4) Bank induced transaction means a transaction in the account initiated by the bank as per its extant policy such as charges, fees, interest payments, penalties, taxes. Note: Illustrative list of bank induced transactions is as under: (i) All types of charges levied by banks including taxes deducted. (ii) Interest paid on savings bank account balances. (5) Bank Rate means the rate published by Reserve Bank in terms of Section 49 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. (6) Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Interest Rates on Advances) Directions, 2025 . (7) Consumer Credit refers to the loans given to individuals, which consists of (i) loans for consumer durables, (ii) credit card receivables, (iii) auto loans (other than loans for commercial use), (iv) personal loans secured by gold, gold jewellery, immovable property, fixed deposits (including FCNR(B)), shares and bonds, etc., (other than for business / commercial purposes), (v) personal loans to professionals (excluding loans for business purposes), and (vi) loans given for other consumptions purposes (e.g., social ceremonies, etc.). However, it excludes (a) education loans, (b) loans given for creation / enhancement of immovable assets (e.g., housing, etc.), (c) loans given for investment in financial assets (shares, debentures, etc.), and (d) consumption loans given to farmers under KCC. (8) Current Account shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Interest Rate on Deposits) Directions, 2025 . (9) Customer shall mean a user or a potential user of bank services and may include: (i) a person or entity that maintains an account and/or has a business relationship with the bank; (ii) one on whose behalf the account is maintained (i.e., the beneficial owner); (iii) beneficiaries of transactions conducted by professional intermediaries, such as Stock Brokers, Chartered Accountants, Solicitors, etc., as permitted under the law, and (iv) any person or entity connected with a financial transaction which can pose significant reputational or other risks to the bank, say, a wire transfer or issue of a high value demand draft as a single transaction. (10) Customer induced transaction means the transaction in an account which is in the nature of: (i) a financial transaction initiated by or done at the behest of the account holder by the bank/ third party or; (ii) a non-financial transaction, or; (iii) KYC updation done in face-to-face physical mode or through digital channels such as internet banking or mobile banking application of the bank. Note: Illustrative list of financial transactions is as under: (a) ATM/ Cash withdrawal/deposit (b) RTGS / NEFT/ IMPS /UPI/ AePS/ ABPS Transactions (c) Internet Banking Transactions (d) Debit Card Transactions (e) Transfer of funds from / to the linked CBDC(e-Rupee) account (f) Cheque Clearing (g) Remittance of funds by way of demand drafts (h) Cash withdrawal by third party through cheque (i) Standing Instructions issued by the customer (j) NACH Debit / Credits (k) Term Deposit Interest / proceeds (l) Dividend on shares/Interest on Debentures or any other investment proceeds (m) Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) credits (n) Refunds such as related to e-commerce payments, Income Tax Returns, etc. (o) National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) debits (10a) 1 Digital Payment Transaction shall have the same meaning as “Electronic Funds Transfer” defined in section 2(c) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. (11) Equated Periodic Instalment (EPI) is an equated or fixed amount of repayment, consisting of both the principal and interest component, to be paid by a borrower towards repayment of a loan at periodic intervals for a fixed number of such intervals; and which result in complete amortisation of the loan. EPIs at monthly intervals are called EMIs. (12) Equivalent e-document shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Know Your Customer) Directions, 2025 . (13) Eligible collateral shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 . (14) Jewellery shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 . (15) Financial transaction means a monetary transaction in the savings / current account of the customer with the bank either by way of a credit or debit transaction. (16) Inoperative Account means a savings / current account where there are no ‘customer induced transactions’ for a period of over two years. (17) Key Facts of a loan agreement between a commercial bank / a group of regulated entities and a borrower are legally significant and deterministic facts that satisfy basic information required to assist the borrower in taking an informed financial decision. (18) Key Facts Statement (KFS) means a statement of key facts of a loan agreement, in simple and easier to understand language, provided to the borrower in a standardised format. (19) Loan to Value (LTV) ratio shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 . (20) ‘Microfinance loan’ shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 . (21) Non-financial transaction means an enquiry or request for any product / service initiated by the account holder through any ATM or internet banking or mobile banking application of the bank or through Third Party Application Providers, which requires two-factor authentication (2FA) and leaves a trail for audit purposes or successful log-in to the internet banking/ mobile banking application. Illustratively, this includes transactions such as change in transaction limit, request for issue of cheque book/ credit card/ debit card, nomination facility, balance enquiry, etc. (22) Officially Valid Document shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Know Your Customer) Directions, 2025 . (23) Ornaments shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 . (24) Personal Loans , as referred in Sections C and F of Chapter VIII, shall have the same meaning as defined in XBRL Returns – Harmonization of Banking Statistics dated January 04, 2018 , as amended from time to time. (25) Savings Deposits shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Interest Rate on Deposits) Directions, 2025 . (26) Term Deposits shall have the same meaning as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Interest Rate on Deposits) Directions, 2025 . (27) Unclaimed Deposit shall mean the credit balance in any deposit account maintained with banks, which have not been operated upon for ten years or more, or any amount remaining unclaimed for ten years or more as mentioned in paragraph 3(iii) of the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund Scheme, 2014 . (28) Unclaimed Deposit Reference Number (UDRN) shall mean a unique number generated through Core Banking Solution (CBS) and assigned to each unclaimed account/ deposit transferred to DEA Fund of RBI. The number shall be such that the account holder or the bank branch where account is maintained, cannot be identified by any third party. Chapter II – Institutional Framework A. Role of Board A.1 Policies 5. A bank shall put in place approved policies and periodic review mechanisms to ensure sound business conduct and enhanced customer service. An illustrative list of such policies to be approved by the Board or a Committee(s) to which powers have been delegated are provided below. The specific aspects to be addressed in these policies are detailed in the relevant paragraphs of these Directions. (1) General Customer Service Aspects: (i) Policy for general management of branches covering, inter alia, new products and services approval process; (ii) Customer Relations Policy inter alia covering customer protection and customer liability in case of reporting delays beyond seven days in unauthorised electronic banking transactions; (iii) Branch Insurance Policy; (iv) Comprehensive Policy and SOP on safe deposit lockers facility covering agreement for safe deposit lockers, nomination and release of contents, access to legal heir/s of deceased locker-hirer/s, breaking open of lockers, loss or damage of content of lockers, etc.; (v) Cheque collection policy; (vi) Policy for preventing misuse of cheque drawing facility including procedure for dealing with dishonoured cheques / frequent dishonour of cheques; (vii) Policy on Doorstep Banking for Senior Citizens / Differently Abled Persons; (viii) Customer Compensation Policy; (ix) Policy on settlement of claims; (2) Liability related: (i) Comprehensive Deposit Policy, (ii) Policy on Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA), and (iii) Policy on Penal Charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance in savings accounts. (3) Asset related: (i) Fair Practices Code for lending; (ii) Fair Practice Code for lending to microfinance borrowers; (iii) Policy on Penal Charges on loans / advances and (iv) Policy on reset of interest rate in floating rate personal loans, including option to borrowers for switch between fixed and floating interest rates. (4) Charges related: Policy on Service Charges for various types of services offered. (5) Training related: Policy regarding the conduct of employees and system for their recruitment, training and monitoring. A.2 Reviews to be carried out by the Board or Committee to which powers have been delegated 6. An illustrative list of reviews to be carried out by the Board or a Committee(s) to which powers have been delegated is provided below. The specific aspects to be addressed in these reviews are detailed in the relevant paragraphs of this Direction. (1) Review of customer service / customer care aspects once in six months. (2) Quarterly Review of the position of sanction of credit limits to exporters. (3) Review of implementation of instructions regarding operations in rural branches and the effects thereof on the quality of operations of the rural branches. (4) Customer liability cases in unauthorised electronic banking transactions. (5) Compliance of the Fair Practices Code and functioning of the grievance redressal mechanism. (6) Review of unclaimed gold and silver collateral at half-yearly intervals. B. Customer Service: Institutional Framework B.1 Need for Board's involvement 7. Matters relating to customer service shall be deliberated by the Board to ensure that the instructions are implemented meaningfully. Commitment to hassle-free service to the customer at large and the common person in particular shall be a major responsibility of the Board. B.2 Policies on Customer Service 8. Customer service shall be projected as a priority objective of banks along with profit, growth and fulfilment of social obligations. A bank shall have policies for the following: B.2.1 Comprehensive Deposit Policy 9. A bank shall formulate a transparent and comprehensive policy setting out the rights of the depositors in general and small depositors in particular. The policy shall cover all aspects of operations of deposit accounts, charges leviable and other related issues to facilitate interaction of depositors at branch levels. Such a policy shall also be explicit regarding secrecy and confidentiality of the customers. Providing other facilities by "tying-up" with placement of deposits is clearly a restrictive practice. B.2.2 Cheque Collection Policy 10. A bank shall formulate a comprehensive and transparent policy taking into account their technological capabilities, systems and processes adopted for clearing arrangements and other internal arrangements for collection through correspondents. The policy inter alia shall cover the following three aspects: (1) Immediate Credit for Local / Outstation cheques (2) Time frame for Collection of Local / Outstation Instruments (3) Interest payment for delayed collection B.2.3 Customer Compensation Policy 11. A bank shall have a Board approved Customer Compensation Policy which shall at a minimum, incorporate the following aspects: (1) Erroneous Debits arising on fraudulent or other transactions, (2) Payment of interest for delays in collection, (3) Payment of interest for delay in issue of duplicate draft, and (4) Other unauthorised actions of the bank leading to a financial loss to customer. B.3 Giving publicity to the policies 12. The bank shall ensure that wide publicity is given to the above policies formulated by it by placing them prominently on the website as well as displaying them on the notice board of its branches. The bank shall also take necessary steps to keep the customers duly informed of the changes in the policies formulated by it, from time to time. The customers shall be clearly apprised of the assurances of the bank on the services provided, at the time of establishment of the initial relationship, be it as a depositor, borrower or otherwise. B.4 Customer Service Committee of the Board 13. The bank shall constitute a Customer Service Committee of the Board and include experts and representatives of customers as invitees to enable the bank to formulate policies and assess the compliance thereof internally. B.5 Role of the Customer Service Committee 14. Customer Service Committee of the Board, illustratively, shall address the following: (1) Formulation of a Comprehensive Deposit Policy, (2) Issues such as the treatment of death of a depositor for operations of his / her account, (3) Product approval process with a view to suitability and appropriateness, (4) Annual survey of depositor satisfaction, and (5) Triennial audit of such services. The Committee shall also examine any other issues having a bearing on the quality of customer service rendered. B.6 Board Meeting to Review and Deliberate on Customer Service 15. A detailed memorandum reviewing customer service / customer care aspects of a bank shall be placed once in every six months to the Board of Directors. Prompt corrective action shall be initiated wherever service quality/skill gaps are noticed. B.7 Standing Committee on Customer Service 16. A bank shall have a Standing Committee on Customer Service, cutting across various departments, which shall serve as the micro level executive committee driving the implementation process and providing relevant feedback. The Customer Service Committee of the Board shall oversee and review / modify the initiatives. These two Committees shall be mutually reinforcing with one feeding into the other. 17. The constitution and functions of the Standing Committee shall be on the lines indicated below: (1) The Standing Committee shall be chaired by the CMD / CEO or the ED and include non-officials as its members to enable an independent feedback on the quality of customer service rendered by the bank. (2) The Standing Committee shall be entrusted not only with the task of ensuring timely and effective compliance of the Reserve Bank’s instructions on customer service, but also that of receiving the necessary feedback to determine that the action taken by various departments of the bank is in tune with the spirit and intent of such instructions. (3) The Standing Committee shall, on an ongoing basis, review the practice and procedures prevalent in the bank and take necessary corrective action. (4) The Standing Committee shall submit a brief report periodically to the Customer Service Committee of the Board on its performance during its tenure indicating, inter alia, the areas reviewed, procedures / practices identified and simplified / introduced. (5) The Standing Committee shall act as the bridge between various departments of the bank and the Board / Customer Service Committee of the Board. B.8 Branch Level Customer Service Committees 18. A bank shall establish Customer Service Committees at branch level, which shall also include their customers. Senior citizens, an important constituent in banks, shall be included therein. 19. The Branch Level Customer Service Committee shall meet at least once a month to study complaints / suggestions, cases of delay, difficulties faced / reported by customers / members of the Committee and evolve ways and means of improving customer service. 20. The Branch Level Committees shall submit quarterly reports giving inputs / suggestions to the Standing Committee on Customer Service thus enabling the Standing Committee to examine them and provide relevant feedback to the Customer Service Committee of the Board for necessary policy / procedural action. Chapter III – Customer Service in Branches A. Policy for General Management of the Branches 21. A bank shall orient its systems and procedures towards providing better customer service and shall periodically assess these systems and their impact on customer service. A bank shall have a Board approved policy for general management of the branches which shall include the following aspects: (1) Providing infrastructure facilities by branches by bestowing particular attention to providing adequate space, proper furniture, drinking water facilities, with specific emphasis on pensioners, senior citizens, disabled persons, etc. (2) Providing entirely separate enquiry counters at its large / bigger branches in addition to a regular reception counter. (3) Displaying indicator boards at all the counters in English, Hindi as well as in the respective regional language. Business posters at semi-urban and rural branches of the bank shall also be in the concerned regional languages. (4) Deployment of roving officials to ensure employees are responsive to customers and assist customers in putting in their transactions. (5) Providing customers with booklets consisting of all details of service and facilities available at the bank in Hindi, English and the respective regional languages. (6) Use of Hindi and regional languages in transacting business by banks with customers, including communications to customers. (7) Reviewing and improving upon the existing security system in branches so as to instil confidence amongst the employees and the public. (8) Wearing on person an identification badge displaying photo and name thereon by the employees. (9) Periodic change of desk and entrustment of elementary supervisory jobs. (10) Suitable training of staff to inculcate customer service orientation. Training in technical areas of banking to the staff at delivery points. Adopting innovative ways of training / delivery ranging from job cards to roving faculty to video conferencing. (11) Visit by senior officials from Controlling Offices and Head Office to branches at periodical intervals for on-the-spot study of the quality of service rendered by the branches. (12) Rewarding the best branches from customer service point of view by annual awards / running shield. (13) Customer service audit, Customer surveys. (14) Holding Customer relation programmes and periodical meetings to interact with different cross sections of customers for identifying action points to upgrade the customer service with customers. (15) Clearly establishing a new product and services approval process which shall require approval by the Board, especially on issues which compromise the rights of the common person. (16) Appointing Quality Assurance Officers who shall ensure that the intent of policy is translated into the content and its eventual translation into proper procedures. B. Service at the counters B.1 Banking hours / working days of bank branches 22. A bank shall normally function for public transactions at least for four hours on weekdays and two hours on Saturdays in the larger interest of public and trading community. Extension counters, Satellite Offices, one-man offices or other special class of branches may remain open for such shorter hours as may be considered necessary. B.2 Changes in banking hours 23. No particular banking hours have been prescribed by law and the bank may fix, after due notice to its customers, whatever business hours are convenient to it, i.e., to work in double shifts, to observe weekly holiday on a day other than Sunday or to function on Sundays in addition to the normal working days, subject to observing normal working hours for public transactions referred to in paragraph 22 above. 24. A bank shall give sufficient notice to the public / its customers of its intention of closing any of its branches / offices on a day other than a public holiday. The bank shall note to avoid any infringement of any other relevant local laws such as Shops and Establishment Act, etc. 25. The provisions, if any, regarding the bank’s obligations to the staff under the Industrial Awards / Settlements, shall be complied with. Clearing House authority of the place shall also be consulted in this regard. 26. A bank shall keep rural branches open on weekly market day. The bank shall have the flexibility to fix the business hours (i.e., number of hours, as well as timings) and the weekly holidays in its rural branches to suit local requirements. This may, however, be done subject to the instructions given above. B.3 Commencement / Extension of Working Hours 27. The branch managers and other supervising officials shall ensure that the members of the staff are available at their respective counters right from the commencement of banking hours and throughout the prescribed business hours so that there shall not be any grounds for customers to make complaints. 28. Commencement of employees’ working hours 15 minutes before commencement of business hours may be made operative by a bank at branches in metropolitan and urban centres. The bank shall implement the recommendation taking into account the provisions of the local Shops and Establishments Act. 29. A bank shall ensure that no counter remains unattended during the business hours and uninterrupted service is rendered to the customers. Further, the bank shall allocate the work in such a way that no teller counter is closed during the banking hours at their branches. All the customers entering the banking hall before the close of business hours shall be attended to. B.4 Extended business hours for non-cash banking transactions 30. A bank shall extend business hours for banking transactions other than cash, up till one hour before close of the working hours. 31. The following non-cash transactions shall be undertaken by a bank during the extended hours, i.e., up to one hour before the close of working hours: (1) Non-voucher generating transactions: (i) Issue of pass books / statement of accounts; (ii) Issue of cheque books; (iii) Delivery of term deposit receipts/drafts; (iv) Acceptance of share application forms; (v) Acceptance of clearing cheques; and (vi) Acceptance of bills for collection. (2) Voucher generating transactions: (i) Issue of term deposit receipts; (ii) Acceptance of cheques for locker rent due; (iii) Issue of travellers cheques; (iv) Issue of gift cheques; and (v) Acceptance of individual cheques for transfer credit. 32. Such non-cash transactions to be done during the extended business hours shall be notified adequately for information of the customers. 33. A bank may have evening counters at the premises of existing branches in urban / metropolitan centres for providing facilities to the public beyond the normal hours of business to bring about improvement in customer service. The transactions conducted during such extended hours of business shall be merged with the main accounts of the branch where it is decided to provide the aforesaid facilities. 34. A bank shall duly notify its constituents about the functions to be undertaken during the extended banking hours through local newspapers, as also by displaying a notice on the notice board at the branch(es) concerned. Further, as and when the hours of business of any of the branches are extended, the concerned clearing house shall also be informed. B.5 Operation of Rural Branches 35. A bank may, at the discretion of its management and based on local conditions, treat one day of the week in rural branches, as a non-public business working day, so that the branch managers spend it exclusively in the field for visiting villages in the command area and contacting their present and potential clientele for development work like mobilisation of deposits, monitoring credit utilisation, recovery and providing appropriate guidance to borrowers. The other staff at the branch shall devote the day to keep the house keeping work up-to-date. 36. The bank shall have flexibility in fixing the non-business working days keeping local conditions in view, especially the 'Hat' days which occupy an important place in the rural economy, subject to sufficient notice to the public / its customers of its intention. However, the following instructions shall be followed in this regard: (1) The non-public business working day shall fall between two working days. (2) All branches at places with population of 10,000 or less shall be treated as rural branches. (3) If there is preponderance of non-agricultural activity at a rural centre and closure of the bank branch on a working day causes inconvenience, the bank may consider such cases on merits and make an exception. It is presumed that adequate arrangements exist in such branches to monitor closely the agricultural and rural advances. (4) If Government business is transacted at a rural branch, an exception may be considered as indicated at (3) above. 37. The bank shall devise appropriate systems to ensure that the branch managers play an effective developmental role by undertaking as much field work as possible by prescribing a suitable diary wherein date-wise details of the villages visited, persons contacted and the work done in each village shall be noted clearly. Such diaries shall be obtained and reviewed by the concerned controlling authorities on a regular basis and during their visits to the branches. 38. Further, the branch managers shall do advance planning say, for a quarter, in regard to their visits to different villages and also keep the concerned controlling offices informed in the matter. In particular, branch managers must ensure that harvesting seasons are effectively used for recovery of dues. They shall also devote as much time as possible on the other working days of the week for doing as much field work as possible besides attending to the office routine. The visits to the villages shall be systematically organised so that all the villages in the command area are covered at least once a quarter, by meeting as many customers as possible during each such visit taking into account the time of availability of the rural folk for such contacts. The bank shall ensure that a perceptible improvement is recorded in the working of each rural branch as a result of introduction of one non-business working day for recovery and healthy growth of deposits. 39. A report on the progress in implementation of the above instructions and the effects thereof on the quality of operations of the rural branches may be placed before the Board of Directors for review and guidance. C. Transfer of account from one branch to another 40. Instructions of a customer for transfer of their account to another branch shall be carried out immediately on receipt of, and in accordance with his / her instructions. It shall be ensured that along with the balance of the account, the relative account opening form, specimen signatures, standing instructions, etc., or the master sheets wherever obtained, are also simultaneously transferred, under advice to the customer. 41. The account transfer form with the enclosures may be handed over to the customer in a sealed cover if they so desire for delivery at the transferee branch. However, the transferee branch shall also be separately supplied with a copy of the account transfer letter. 42. When a branch receives an enquiry from a customer regarding the receipt of his / her account on transfer from another branch, it shall take up the matter with the transferor branch by electronic means, in case it has not received the balance of the account and/or other related papers even after a reasonable transit time. D. Switching banks by customers 43. A bank shall ensure that depositors dissatisfied with customer service have the facility to switch banks and thwarting depositors from such switches would invite serious adverse action. Chapter IV – Customer Guidance and Protection A. Guidance to customers and Disclosure of Information A.1 Assistance/guidance to customers 44. A bank shall have “Enquiry” or “May I Help You” counters either exclusively or combined with other duties, located near the entry point of the banking hall, at all branches (excluding very small branches). A.2 Display of time norms 45. A bank shall display the time norms for specialised business transactions predominantly in the banking hall. A.3 Display of information by banks – Comprehensive Notice Board 46. A bank shall adhere to the following instructions on display of information. A.3.1 Notice Boards 47. The minimum size of the Notice Board may be 2 feet by 2 feet as Board of such a size would facilitate comfortable viewing from a distance of 3 to 5 meters. The bank shall have a Comprehensive Notice Board to display information at its branches as per the format given in Annex I . 48. While displaying the information in the notice board, the bank shall adhere to the following principles: (1) The notice board shall be updated on a periodical basis and the notice board shall indicate the date up to which it was updated (incorporated in the display board). (2) The design of the board shall be kept simple and readable while having the discretion on pattern, colour and design. (3) The notice board shall be in bilingual in Hindi speaking states and trilingual in other states. (4) The notice board shall specifically indicate wherever recent changes have been done. Explanation: If there is a recent change in the SSI loan products offered by the bank, the information on the SSI loan products may be displayed as 'We offer SSI loans/products (changed on ……….)’. (5) The notice board may also indicate a list of items on which detailed information is available in booklet form. 49. In addition to the above Board, a bank shall also display details such as ‘Name of the bank / branch, Working Days, Working Hours and Weekly Off-days' outside the branch premises. A.3.2 Booklets / Brochures 50. The detailed information as indicated in Paragraph (E) of Annex I may be made available in various booklets / brochures as decided by the bank. These booklets / brochures may be kept in a separate file / folder in the form of ‘replaceable pages’ so as to facilitate copying and updation. In this connection, the bank may also adhere to the following broad guidelines: (1) The file / folder may be kept at the customer lobby in the branch or at the ‘May I Help You’ counter or at a place that is frequented by most of the customers. (2) The language requirements (i.e., bilingual in Hindi speaking states and trilingual in other states) may be taken into account. (3) While printing the booklets, it may be ensured that the font size is minimum Arial 10 so that the customers are able to easily read the same. (4) Copies of booklets may be made available to the customers on request. A.3.3 Website 51. A bank shall make available the detailed information indicated in Paragraph (E) of Annex I on its website. It shall be ensured that the customers are able to easily access the relevant information from the Home Page of the bank’s website. The bank shall adhere to the broad guidelines relating to dating of material, legibility, etc., while placing the same on its website. The Reserve Bank is providing a link to the websites of banks on its website so that customers can also have access to the information. 52. A bank shall display latest updated information relating to interest rates and service charges as per the format given in Annex II on its website. The same shall be easily accessible from the Home Page of its website. The bank is, however, free to modify the format to suit its requirements, without impairing the basic structure or curtailing the scope of disclosures. 53. A bank shall display the following information regarding pricing of credit on its website. (1) The interest rate range of contracted loans for the past quarter for different categories of advances granted to individual borrowers along with mean interest rates for such loans. (2) The total fees and charges applicable on various types of loans to individual borrower shall be disclosed at the time of processing of loan as well as displayed on the website of the bank for transparency and comparability and to facilitate informed decision making by customers. (3) A bank shall publish Annual Percentage Rate (APR) or such similar other arrangement of representing the total cost of credit on a loan to an individual borrower on its website so as to allow customers to compare the costs associated with borrowing across products and/ or lenders. 54. Some of the details, which could be at the minimum, be made available for public viewing through website of a bank are listed below: (1) Policy / Guidelines (i) Citizen's Charter (ii) Deposit Policy (iii) Deceased Depositors Policy along with Nomination Rules (iv) Cheque Collection Policy (v) Fair Practices Code for Lenders (vi) Code of Conduct for Direct Selling Agents (vii) Code for Collection of Dues and Repossession of Security (2) Complaints (i) Grievance Redressal Mechanism (ii) Information relating to Banking Ombudsmen (iii) Information relating to Customer Service Centres (for Public Sector Banks) (3) Opening of Accounts (i) Account Opening Forms (ii) Terms and Conditions (iii) Service Charges for various types of services – should cover typical common services including courier charges – what services are available without any charges. (iv) Interest rates on Deposits (v) Minimum balances – along with corresponding facilities offered. (4) Loans and Advances (i) Application forms relating to loans and advances (ii) Copy of blank agreement to be executed by the borrower (iii) Terms and Conditions (iv) Processing fee and other charges (v) Interest rates on Loans and Advances (5) Branches (i) Details of branches along with addresses and telephone numbers (with search engine for queries relating to branch location) (ii) Details of ATMs along with addresses A.3.4 Other modes of display 55. The bank may also consider displaying all the information that has to be given in the booklet form in the touch screen by placing it in the information kiosks. Scroll Bars, Tag Boards are other options available. The above broad guidelines may be adhered to while displaying information using these modes. A.3.5 Other issues 56. The bank is free to decide on its promotional and product information displays. However, the mandatory displays may not be obstructed in anyway. As customer interest and financial education are sought to be achieved by the mandatory display requirements, they should also be given priority over the other display boards. Information relating to Government sponsored schemes as applicable location-wise may be displayed according to their applicability. A.4 Display of Timelines for Credit Decisions 57. The bank may make suitable disclosures on the timelines for conveying credit decisions through its website, notice boards, product literature, etc. A.5 Printed material in trilingual form 58. The bank shall make available all printed material used by retail customers including account opening forms, pay-in-slips, passbooks, etc., in trilingual form, i.e., English, Hindi and the concerned Regional Language. B. Publicity in the bank branches cautioning public against placing deposits in dubious schemes 59. The bank may in its own interest and as a customer education effort in the interest of the public, consider designing suitable posters or pamphlets or flyers or notices containing following messages: Never respond to unsolicited offers of money received through emails/phone/other media* No one really gives you money for free* Be careful while investing in seemingly attractive schemes offering high returns* Don’t invest in unregulated companies/entities* Don’t rely on hearsay - Check for yourself* High return means higher risk including potential loss of entire money – Check your risk-appetite!* Take care of your money – it is hard to earn but easy to lose* When in doubt check with a trusted financial adviser* *For any clarification, visit www.rbi.org.in or www.sebi.gov.in or www.irdai.gov.in 60. Wherever feasible, such messages may be displayed or distributed in the bank branches (in the official language of the state) to enable easy notice by the customers. Since bank branches are vantage points where members of public visit, it will help to disseminate the information to the public. The bank may consider places like ATMs or Business Correspondent Points where such messages could get wider visibility. This would also be beneficial to the bank as its customers would be aware and vigilant of any such fraudulent schemes/calls. 61. To be effective, such measures have to be pursued continuously for a long period of time and therefore the field staff shall be sensitised in this regard. The branch officials shall also be encouraged to share any meaningful information (market intelligence) of any such dubious scheme in their area with their Regional Offices, which may, in turn, share such information with respective Regional Office of RBI. C. Erroneous Debits arising on fraudulent or other transactions C.1 Vigilance by banks 62. The bank shall adhere to the instructions and procedures for opening and operating deposit accounts to safeguard against unscrupulous persons opening accounts mainly to use them as conduit for fraudulently encashing payment instruments. However, in view of receipt of continuous complaints of fraudulent encashment by unscrupulous persons opening deposit accounts in the name/s similar to already established entities resulting in erroneous and unauthorised debit of drawers’ accounts, the bank shall remain vigilant to prevent such lapses and issue necessary instructions to the branches / staff. C.2 Compensating the customer 63. In case of such erroneous debits on account of fraudulent or other transactions, a bank also does not restore funds promptly to customers, even in bona-fide cases but, defer action till completion of either departmental action or police interrogation. Therefore, a bank is advised that: (1) In case of any fraud, if the branch is convinced that an irregularity / fraud has been committed by its staff towards any constituent, the branch shall at once acknowledge its liability and pay the just claim, (2) in cases where the bank is at fault, it shall compensate customers without demur, and (3) in cases where neither the bank is at fault nor the customer is at fault but the fault lies elsewhere in the system, then also the bank shall compensate the customers (up to a limit) as part of a Board approved customer relations policy. D. Limiting Liability of Customers in Unauthorised Electronic Banking Transactions D.1 Strengthening of systems and procedures 64. Broadly, electronic banking transactions can be divided into two categories: (1) Remote / online payment transactions (transactions that do not require physical payment instruments to be presented at the point of transactions, e.g., internet banking, mobile banking, card not present (CNP) transactions, Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPI), and (2) Face-to-face/ proximity payment transactions (transactions which require the physical payment instrument such as a card or mobile phone to be present at the point of transaction, e.g., ATM, POS, etc.). 65. The systems and procedures in a bank shall be designed to make customers feel safe about carrying out electronic banking transactions. To achieve this, the bank shall put in place: (1) appropriate systems and procedures to ensure safety and security of electronic banking transactions carried out by customers; (2) robust and dynamic fraud detection and prevention mechanism; (3) mechanism to assess the risks (for example, gaps in the bank’s existing systems) resulting from unauthorised transactions and measure the liabilities arising out of such events; (4) appropriate measures to mitigate the risks and protect themselves against the liabilities arising therefrom; and (5) a system of continually and repeatedly advising customers on how to protect themselves from electronic banking and payments related fraud. D.2 Reporting of unauthorised transactions by customers to banks 66. A bank shall ask its customers to mandatorily register for SMS alerts and wherever available register for e-mail alerts, for electronic banking transactions. The SMS alerts shall mandatorily be sent to the customers, while email alerts may be sent, wherever registered. The customers shall be advised to notify their bank of any unauthorised electronic banking transaction at the earliest after the occurrence of such transaction and informed that the longer the time taken to notify the bank, the higher will be the risk of loss to the bank / customer. To facilitate this, the bank shall provide customers with 24x7 access through multiple channels (at a minimum, via website, phone banking, SMS, e-mail, IVR, a dedicated toll-free helpline, reporting to home branch, etc.) for reporting unauthorised transactions that have taken place and/ or loss or theft of payment instrument such as card, etc. The bank shall also enable customers to instantly respond by "Reply" to the SMS and e-mail alerts and the customers shall not be required to search for a web page or an e-mail address to notify the objection, if any. As an alternative, the bank shall prove and alternate number in the transaction alert SMS itself, to which the customer can immediately send a reply. Further, a direct link for lodging the complaints, with specific option to report unauthorised electronic transactions shall be provided by the bank on home page of its website. The loss/ fraud reporting system shall also ensure that immediate response (including auto response) is sent to the customers acknowledging the complaint along with the registered complaint number. The communication systems used by the bank to send alerts and receive their responses thereto shall record the time and date of delivery of the message and receipt of customer’s response, if any, to it. This shall be important in determining the extent of a customer’s liability. The bank shall not offer facility of electronic transactions, other than ATM cash withdrawals, to customers who do not provide mobile numbers to it. On receipt of report of an unauthorised transaction from the customer, the bank shall take immediate steps to prevent further unauthorised transactions in the account. D.3 Limited Liability of a Customer D.3.1 Zero Liability of a Customer 67. A customer’s entitlement to zero liability shall arise where the unauthorised transaction occurs in the following events: (1) Contributory fraud / negligence / deficiency on the part of the bank (irrespective of whether the transaction is reported by the customer or not). (2) Third party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorised transaction. D.3.2 Limited Liability of a Customer 68. A customer shall be liable for the loss occurring due to unauthorised transactions in the following cases: (1) In cases where the loss is due to negligence by a customer, such as where he / she has shared the payment credentials, the customer will bear the entire loss until he / she reports the unauthorised transaction to the bank. Any loss occurring after the reporting of the unauthorised transaction shall be borne by the bank. (2) In cases where the responsibility for the unauthorised electronic banking transaction lies neither with the bank nor with the customer, but lies elsewhere in the system and the customer notifies the bank of such a transaction within four to seven working days of receiving a communication of the transaction, the per transaction liability of the customer shall be limited to the transaction value or the amount mentioned in Table 1 , whichever is lower. Table 1 Maximum Liability of a Customer under paragraph 68 (2) Type of Account Maximum liability (₹) • BSBD Accounts 5,000 • All other SB accounts • Pre-paid Payment Instruments and Gift Cards • Current/ Cash Credit/ Overdraft Accounts of MSMEs • Current Accounts/ Cash Credit/ Overdraft Accounts of Individuals with annual average balance (during 365 days preceding the incidence of fraud)/ limit up to ₹25 lakh • Credit cards with limit up to ₹5 lakh 10,000 • All other Current/ Cash Credit/ Overdraft Accounts • Credit cards with limit above ₹5 lakh 25,000 69. Further, if the delay in reporting is beyond seven working days, the customer liability shall be determined as per the bank’s Board approved policy. The bank shall provide the details of its policy regarding customers’ liability formulated in pursuance of these directions at the time of opening the accounts. The bank shall also display its approved policy in public domain for wider dissemination. The existing customers shall also be individually informed about the bank’s policy. 70. Overall liability of the customer in third party breaches, as detailed in paragraphs 67(2) and 68(2) above, where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, is summarised in the Table 2 : Table 2 Summary of Customer’s Liability Time taken to report the fraudulent transaction from the date of receiving the communication Customer’s liability (₹) Within three working days Zero liability Within four to seven working days The transaction value or the amount mentioned in Table 1, whichever is lower Beyond seven working days As per the bank’s Board approved policy 71. The number of working days mentioned in Table 2 shall be counted as per the working schedule of the home branch of the customer excluding the date of receiving the communication. D.3.3 Reversal Timeline for Zero Liability / Limited Liability of customer 72. On being notified by the customer, the bank shall credit (shadow reversal) the amount involved in the unauthorised electronic transaction to the customer’s account within 10 working days from the date of such notification by the customer (without waiting for settlement of insurance claim, if any). The bank may also, at its discretion, decide to waive off any customer liability in case of unauthorised electronic banking transactions even in cases of customer negligence. The credit shall be value dated to be as of the date of the unauthorised transaction. 73. Further, the bank shall ensure that: (1) a complaint is resolved and liability of the customer, if any, established within such time, as may be specified in the bank’s Board approved policy, but not exceeding 90 days from the date of receipt of the complaint, and the customer is compensated as per provisions of paragraphs 67 to 72 above; (2) where it is unable to resolve the complaint or determine the customer liability, if any, within 90 days, the compensation as prescribed in paragraphs 67 to 72 is paid to the customer; and (3) in case of debit card/ bank account, the customer does not suffer loss of interest, and in case of credit card, the customer does not bear any additional burden of interest. D.3.4 Board Approved Policy for Customer Protection 74. Taking into account the risks arising out of unauthorised debits to customer accounts owing to customer negligence / bank negligence / banking system frauds / third party breaches, the bank needs to clearly define the rights and obligations of customers in case of unauthorised transactions in specified scenarios. The bank shall formulate / revise its customer relations policy, with approval of its Board, to cover aspects of customer protection, including the mechanism of creating customer awareness on the risks and responsibilities involved in electronic banking transactions and customer liability in such cases of unauthorised electronic banking transactions. The policy must be transparent, non-discriminatory and shall stipulate the mechanism of compensating the customers for the unauthorised electronic banking transactions and also prescribe the timelines for effecting such compensation keeping in view the instructions contained in paragraph 73 above. The policy shall be displayed on the bank’s website along with the details of grievance handling/ escalation procedure. The instructions contained in this section shall be incorporated in the policy. D.4 Burden of Proof 75. The burden of proving customer liability in case of unauthorised electronic banking transactions shall lie on the bank. D.5 Reporting and Monitoring Requirements 76. The bank shall put in place a suitable mechanism and structure for the reporting of the customer liability cases to the Board or one of its Committees. The reporting shall, inter alia, include volume / number of cases and the aggregate value involved and distribution across various categories of cases, viz., card present transactions, card not present transactions, internet banking, mobile banking, ATM transactions, etc. The Board in the bank shall periodically review the unauthorised electronic banking transactions reported by customers or otherwise, as also the action taken thereon, the functioning of the grievance redressal mechanism and take appropriate measures to improve the systems and procedures. All such transactions shall be reviewed by the bank’s internal auditors. E. Levy of Service Charges E.1 Fixing Service Charges by Banks 77. A bank shall work out the service charges for various types of services like charges for cheque collection etc., with prior approval of its Board of Directors. These charges shall be reasonable and not out of line with the average cost of providing these services. The bank shall also take care to ensure that customers with low volume of activities are not penalised. E.2 Ensuring Reasonableness of Bank Charges 78. A bank shall adopt / follow the principles outlined below for ensuring reasonableness in fixing and communicating service charges. 79. Identification of Basic Banking Services: A bank shall identify basic banking services based on the following broad parameters: (1) Nature of transactions (i) Banking services that are ordinarily availed by individuals in the middle and lower segments, shall be the first parameter. These will comprise services related to deposit / loan accounts, remittance services and collection services. (ii) When the above transactions occur in different delivery channels, for the purpose of pricing, they may be treated on a separate footing. (2) Value of transactions (i) Low value of transactions with customers / public up to the ceiling as given below shall be the second parameter: -Remittances up to ₹10,000 in each instance -Collections below ₹10,000 in each instance (Foreign exchange transactions valued up to $500/-) (3) Based on the above-mentioned two parameters, an illustrative list of services is given below. The list of services identified is only an indicative one and the bank may, at its discretion, include within the category of basic services such additional services as it may consider appropriate. Table 3 Sr. No. Type of service (A) Service relating to deposit accounts 1 Cheque book facility 2 Issue of PassBook (or Statement) / Issue of Balance Certificate 3 Issue of duplicate passbook or statement 4 ATM Cards 5 Debit cards (electronic cheque) 6 Stop payment 7 Balance enquiry 8 Account closure 9 Cheque Return – Inward (cheque received for payment) 10 Signature verification (B) Relating to Loan Accounts 11 No dues certificate (C) Remittance Facilities (including through other banks) (Rupee or foreign exchange) 12 Demand Draft – Issue 13 Demand Draft – Cancellation 14 Demand Draft – Revalidation 15 Demand Draft – Duplicate Issuance 16 Payment Order – Issue 17 Payment Order – Cancellation 18 Payment Order – Revalidation 19 Payment Order – Duplicate Issuance 20 Telegraphic Transfer – Issue 21 Telegraphic Transfer – Cancellation 22 Telegraphic Transfer – Duplicate Issuance 23 Payment by Electronic Clearing Services (ECS) 24 Transfer by National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) (D) Collection facilities 25 Collection of Local cheques 26 Collection of Outstation cheques 27 Cheque Return-Outward (cheque deposited for collection) 80. Offering basic banking services outside the scope of bundled products: A bank shall make available the basic banking services at reasonable prices / charges and towards this, basic services shall be delivered outside the scope of bundled products. 81. Principles for ensuring reasonableness in fixing and communicating service charges: (1) For basic services to individuals, a bank shall levy charges at the rates that are lower than the rates applied when the same services are given to non-individuals. (2) For basic services rendered to special category of individuals (such as individuals in rural areas, pensioners and senior citizens), a bank shall levy charges on more liberal terms than the terms on which the charges are levied to other individuals. (3) For the basic services rendered to individuals, a bank shall levy charges only if the charges are just and supported by reason. (4) For the basic services to individuals, a bank shall levy services charges ad-valorem only to cover any incremental cost and subject to a cap. (5) A bank shall provide to the individual customers upfront and in a timely manner, complete information on the charges applicable to all basic services. (6) A bank shall provide advance information to the individual customers about the proposed changes in the service charges. (7) A bank shall collect for services given to individuals only such charges which have
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/DOR/2025-26/201 · issued 28 Nov 2025. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.