RBI ombudsman records 68% jump in complaints in FY23, maximum related to e-banking

The complaints registered under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Integrated Ombudsman Scheme jumped by a massive 68% to 7.03 lakh during the fiscal year 2022-23, as per the annual report released by the central bank on Monday, March 11.

Around 1.96 lakh or 83.78% of the complaints were related to banks, both public and private, the report showed. Of these complaints, 20.27% were related to electronic/mobile banking. In comparison, e-banking-related issues accounted for 12.99% of the total complaints in FY21 and FY22.

Around 20.13% of the complaints in FY23 pertained to loans and advances, 17% were related to deposit accounts, 14.5% were related to ATMs/debit cards and 12.5% pertained to credit cards.

The RBI ombudsman maintained a healthy disposal rate of 97.99% during the year. Further, there was a significant decline in the number of complaints pending beyond 30 days, from 0.26% as on March 31, 2022 to 0.04% as on March 31, 2023, the report said.

The average turnaround time for the disposal of complaints stood at 33 days, which was lower as compared to 44 days in FY22.

Chandigarh, Delhi among top contributors

As per the report, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat were the top five contributors to Ombudsman complaints.

On the other hand, the states of Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh were the lowest contributors during the year.

Category-wise, the bulk of the complaints were received from individuals, at 85.92%, followed by limited companies at 2.77% and individual businesses at 2.24%.