Bank customers should report complaints of unauthorised/fraudulent transactions in their accounts as immediately as possible and take an acknowledgement from the bank to the effect.

This has become all the more relevant in the context of recent additions to the banking codes by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India, said Anand Aras, Chief Executive Officer.

Codes revised

He said this while addressing a customer awareness meet held here on Thursday, in association with TransUnion CIBIL, with a view to reaching out to them on banking codes and customer rights.

Some codes have been revised recently with effect from January. New codes on digital and internet banking, as well as limited liability of the customer in respect of unauthorised transactions, have been added.

Facilities for senior citizens, too, have been revisited. “Our purpose has been to focus on customer rights that the codes seek to protect,” said Aras.

He dwelt at length on the recent RBI guidelines on limiting customer’s liability in unauthorised and fraudulent transactions. “The decision of limiting customer liability favours banking customers,” he said.

They would not be held liable for any unauthorised transaction if a complaint is made within three days. “So, it is advisable for everyone to report the complaint immediately to the bank and take an acknowledgement,” he added.

Other new sections added in the codes include key commitments aligned with the charter of customer rights and various do’s and don’ts in online banking to make the customer’s experience pleasant. Among others who addressed the audience included HN Iyer, Banking Ombudsman, RBI, and Asha Jain, Manager, CIBIL.

The topics of discussion varied from banks’ adherence to the codes, enhancing banking experience, and highlights of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme to grievance redressal and credit scoring mechanism.

Ombudsman Iyer spoke about the highlights of the Revised Ombudsman Scheme, and also the grievance redressal mechanism where he cited some important cases as decided by the Banking Ombudsman’s Office.

Asha Jain made a presentation on the recording of customer credit history by credit information companies, the importance of CIBIL scores and improving on them, and settlement of outstanding issues, if any, with banks.

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