The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has on 8th February, 2021 released the Annual Report of the “Ombudsman Schemes of the Reserve Bank for the year 2019-20”.

The Annual Report covers the activities under the Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS), the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (OSNBFC) and the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT); the developments in the area of consumer protection and the way forward. This Annual Report provides an analysis of the complaints received and resolved, including a Root Cause Analysis of complaints and the corrective actions initiated.

Key Highlights –

The Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018:

• The Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (OSNBFC) was notified by RBI under Section 45L of the RBI Act, 1934 on February 23, 2018. The Scheme is applicable to (a) Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) which are authorised to accept deposits; and (b) Non-deposit taking NBFCs (NBFC-NDs) having customer interface, with an asset size of ₹100 crore or above, as on the date of the audited balance sheet of the previous financial year.
• The Scheme is administered from the Offices of the NBFC Ombudsman (ONBFCOs) in four metro centers viz. Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi for handling complaints from the respective zones.
• At the time of its launch, the OSNBFC covered NBFC-Ds registered with the RBI. NBFC-NDs with customer interface and having an asset size of ₹ 100 crore and above were brought within the ambit of OSNBFC with effect from April 26, 2019.
• Review the Internal Ombudsman Scheme for extension to NBFCs: The proposal to extend the Internal Ombudsman Scheme (IO Scheme) to all NBFCs covered under OSNBFC, 2018, was examined. Considering the diversity in the size and business profile of NBFCs, the number of complaints received and the customer interface, the implementation of the IO Scheme for NBFCs is under review for roll-out based on selective applicability.
• The IO Scheme for NBFCs is being reviewed for select applicability,and a disincentive framework for banks deficient in grievance redressal is being finalized.

Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT), 2019:

• The Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT), was notified by RBI under Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 on January 31, 2019. The Scheme is applicable to Non-bank System Participants1 (issuers of Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs)) regulated by RBI. The Offices of Ombudsman for Digital Transactions (OODTs) function from all the existing OBOs, and handle complaints of customers in their respective territorial jurisdiction.
• In the year 2019-2020 the Internal Ombudsman Scheme was extended to Non-bank System Participants that are issuers of Pre-paid Payment Instruments to strengthen their internal grievance redressal mechanism.

Source: Reserve Bank of India

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