Gujarat reported the highest number of complaints related to mobile banking and credit cards, according to Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS) data from Apr 1, 2022, to Mar 31, 2023.
The most common among these is related to the 40–45-day waiting period for a refund if a transaction fails after transacting through a credit or debit card. Banks are also accused of refusing to refund money, claiming that the transaction was either not made or was fraudulent.
Gujarat has three times more such complaints than Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Delhi.
In Gujarat, about 7 out of every 1 lakh mobile banking account holders have filed such a complaint.
As per the data, there have been about 40,345 complaints against the State Bank of India, 16,602 against ICICI Bank, and 14,979 against HDFC Bank.
According to the data, there were 73,764 complaints against public sector banks in 2022–23, compared to 1.13 lakh in 2021–22. Complaints against foreign banks and small finance banks are spiking rapidly as well.
There were 28,635 complaints related to ATM cards and debit cards in 2022–23. Complaints about loans and advances increased to 39,579 at the end of the 2022–23 tenure.
39,855 mobile/electronic banking-related complaints were registered, while credit card complaints stood at 24,549 during this tenure.
Other complaints at the RBI’s ombudsman
There are also many complaints about banks charging incorrect interest on late credit card payments, along with disputes about the amount due when settling a credit card.
In addition, there are widespread complaints at the banking ombudsman about customer ill-treatment over fee calculations for foreign transactions, annual fees, and other fees.
Several complaints also mentioned banks deducting amounts directly from the customer’s account.
Customers also complained of banks wrongly damaging their CIBIL scores.