The Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (RB-IOS, 2021/ the Scheme) was launched on November 12, 2021. It integrates the erstwhile three Ombudsman schemes of RBI namely, (i) the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006; (ii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018; and (iii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019. These schemes had limited and different grounds of complaints and limited coverage of REs, apart from jurisdiction related restrictions. RB-IOS, 2021 provides for cost-free redress of customer complaints involving deficiency in services rendered by entities regulated by RBI, if not resolved to the satisfaction of the customers or not replied to within a period of 30 days by the RE.

In addition to integrating the three existing schemes, the Scheme also includes under its ambit additional REs, namely, Non-Scheduled Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks with a deposit size of ₹50 crore and above and Credit Information Companies. The Scheme adopts ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach by making the RBI’s Ombudsman mechanism jurisdiction neutral.

The AGR Framework of RBI comprises of RBI Ombudsmen (RBIOs), Consumer Education and Protection Cells (CEPCs) and CEPD. The RBIOs function under the framework of RB-IOS, 2021. The CEPCs take up complaints against REs not falling under the ambit of RB-IOS, 2021. CEPD provides assistance to the Appellate Authority (AA) under the RB-IOS and processes the appeal cases.

RB-IOS, 2021 covers all commercial banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), Payment System Participants, most Primary (Urban) Cooperative Banks, and Credit Information Companies. The REs covered under the RB-IOS, 2021 are listed under Question 11.

An RBI Ombudsman is a senior official of RBI appointed by RBI to redress the complaints from customers of the REs against “deficiency in service”, as defined under Clause 3(1)(g) of the RB-IOS, 2021. “Deficiency in service” means a shortcoming or an inadequacy in any financial service or such other services related thereto, which the RE is required to provide statutorily or otherwise, which may or may not result in financial loss or damage to the customer.

A Deputy Ombudsman is a senior officer appointed by RBI to assist the RBI Ombudsman (refer Question 4) in matters of resolution of complaints and in handling certain complaints and the functions entrusted under the Scheme. The Deputy Ombudsman endeavors to promote settlement of a complaint by agreement between the complainant and the RE through facilitation or conciliation or mediation and dispose complaints as discussed in Question 24.

RB-IOS, 2021 has simplified the processes, centralized the receipt of physical and email complaints, brought more REs under its ambit, done away with limited grounds of complaints and difference jurisdictions of Ombudsmen and now all complaints involving deficiency in service are covered under RB-IOS. Complainants can lodge their complaints against an RE on the 24x7 online CMS portal at https://cms.rbi.org.in/ or send their complaint in email/physical form to CRPC (refer Question 16). Salient benefits for the complainant arising from the RB-IOS with upgraded CMS portal are as under:

1. Simplification in the process of filing the complaint on CMS portal;

2. A complaint can be filed on CMS portal/ CRPC from anywhere in the country irrespective of the address of the complainant, RE or branch involved;

3. One address and one email for lodging of physical/ email complaints from anywhere in the country;

4. Automatic acknowledgement to the complainant on registration of online complaint;

5. Facility for real-time tracking of the status of complaint;

6. Convenience from ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach;

7. Facility for online submission of additional documents on the CMS itself;

8. Detailed letter intimating decision/ closure of complaint;

9. Facility for online and voluntary feedback submission by the complainant regarding redress provided by RBI.

Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC) has been set up at RBI, Chandigarh for receiving complaints through physical mode (letter/post). The CRPC undertakes initial scrutiny and processing of these complaints, uploads them on CMS, which are then assigned to Offices of RBI Ombudsmen (ORBIOs) or CEPCs for redressal. Please refer to Question 15 and 16 for further details.

The Contact Center of RBI is a platform where a complainant can reach out to RBI to get information related to AGR mechanism of RBI, procedure of or help in filing complaints and to ascertain the status of the complaint lodged with RBI. The contact center with Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) with Toll Free #14448 is available 24x7, while the facility to connect to Contact Centre personnel is available from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM (weekdays except National Holidays) for English and Hindi, and in ten Regional Languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil) from 9:30 AM to 5:15 PM.

No, complaints cannot be filed through Contact Center, but the Contact Centre can assist the complainant in filing the complaint through CMS portal or physical mode. It will also provide clarifications about/ details of the AGR mechanism set up by RBI.

Presently, Offices of RBI Ombudsmen (ORBIOs) are functioning from 22 locations across India. However, the complainants need not contact/ approach any specified ORBIO for filing a complaint under the RB-IOS, 2021. The complaints lodged directly online through CMS Portal (https://cms.rbi.org.in) are automatically allocated to different RBI Ombudsmen for redressal upon registration of the complaint. Physical and email complaints are processed and entered in CMS for further processing, after seeking further information/ details, if missing, from the complainant.