North India Statesman
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given great relief to bank customers. It has asked banks to reduce some fees on customers. These include fees for debit cards, late payment made by customers and mandatory for minimum balance. According to a report by the Bloomberg news agency, this decision may affect the revenue of banks by billions of rupees. This step has been taken because banks are charging more fees on retail loans. After suffering losses in corporate loans, personal loans, car loans and small business loans are now earning good profits. This increase has drawn the attention of RBI to customers’ concerns and fairness.
RBI has focused on ‘in’ customers
The RBI is particularly concerned about the fees that unevenly affect poor and low -income customers. This is a serious issue in India with the most populous countries in the world. Although RBI has advised banks to reduce the fee, it has not fixed any specific limit.
According to the online financial market bankbazar, the processing fee on retail and small business loans currently ranges from 0.5% to 2.5%. Some banks have fixed the limit of home loan fee ₹ 25,000. This year, the fee of banks has increased. According to India Ratings and Research data, the fee income in the quarter ended June increased by 12% to ₹ 510.6 billion, which is 6% higher than a year ago.
RBI’s ‘or’ close watch on ‘or’
RBI has said that different fees are being charged from different customers for the same product. It is against fairness. Indian Banks Association (IBA) is interacting with banks on more than 100 retail products that RBI is monitoring. In March 2024, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra directed banks and NBFCs to resolve customers’ complaints. He suggested that senior bank officials like MD and CEO should take time out once a week to resolve complaints.
The number of complaints under RBI’s Integrated Lokpal Yojana has increased 50% in two years to 9.34 lakhs in 2023-24. Complaints received by RBI Lokpal have also increased by 24% to 2.94 lakhs. The governor said that in 2023-24 95 commercial banks received more than 1 crore complaints. If the complaints received from NBFC are also included in it, then this number will be even more.
Frequently asked questions
What has RBI said to banks?
The RBI has asked banks to reduce the service fee levied on customers. These include debit card fees, fine for not having minimum balance and fined for late payment. RBI believes that these fees are putting heavy burden on low -income customers.
When was this notice issued and what is its purpose?
This notice was issued to banks in early September 2025. It aims to reduce customers’ grievances and make banking services more transparent and fair. In March 2025, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had asked banks to take customers’ complaints seriously, under which more than 9,34,000 complaints will be lodged in 2023-24.
How will the debit card fee be reduced?
RBI has asked to issue debit cards, reduce annual fees or transactions fees. Banks, especially for low income groups, will have to reduce these fees. Currently, banks charge various fees, but RBI has not fixed any fixed limit; It is left to the discretion of banks.
