Banking Ombudsman Scheme

• The Banking Ombudsman Scheme is introduced under Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 by RBI with effect from It is revised in 2002 and later in 2006.
• The Banking Ombudsman Scheme enables an expeditious and inexpensive forum to bank customers for resolution of complaints relating to certain services rendered by banks.
• All Scheduled Commercial Banks, RRBs and Scheduled Primary Co-Operative Banks are covered under the Scheme.
• The Banking Ombudsman is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to redress customer complaints against deficiency in certain banking services.
• The Banking Ombudsman does not charge any fee for filing and resolving customers’ complaints.
• The maximum compensation which a BO can help a complainant to get is Rs. 10 lakhs.
• If a complaint is not settled by an agreement within a period of one month, the Banking Ombudsman proceeds further to pass an award. Before passing an award, the Banking Ombudsman provides reasonable opportunity to the complainant and the bank, to present their case.
• If one is not satisfied with the decision passed by the Banking Ombudsman, one can approach the appellate authority who is the Deputy Governor of the RBI.

Note-  The decision given by Banking Ombudsman is called Award.

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