1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 This is a voluntary Code, which sets
standards of fair banking practices for member banks of
Indian Banks’ Association to follow when they are
dealing with individual customers. It provides valuable
guidance to you for your day-to-day operations. The Code
applies to:
-
Current, savings and all other deposit accounts.
-
Pension,
PPF accounts etc. operated as agents of
RBI/Government.
-
Collection and remittance services offered by the
banks.
-
Loans and overdrafts.
-
Foreign-exchange services.
- Card
products .
-
Third party products offered through our network.
1.2 About this
Code:
-
As a
voluntary Code, it promotes competition and
encourages market forces to achieve higher operating
standards for the benefit of customers. In the Code,
‘you’ denotes the customer and ‘we’ the bank, the
customer deals with.
- The
standards of the Code are covered by the four key
commitments found in section 2.
-
Unless it says otherwise, all parts of this Code
apply to all the products and services listed above,
whether they are provided by branches across the
counter, over the phone, by post, through
interactive electronic devices, on the internet or
by any other method.
-
Commitments outlined in this Code are applicable
under normal operating environment. In the event of
force majeure, we may not be able to fulfill the
commitments under this Code.
- Key
words which are shown in bold print in the Code are
defined in the Annexure at the end of the Code.
- This
Code comes into effect from 1st June 2004 unless
otherwise indicated.
2. KEY COMMITMENTS
Our key
commitments to you, We promise to:
-
Act
fairly and reasonably in all our dealings with you
by:
- Meeting the commitments and
standards in this Code, for the products and
services we offer, and in the procedures and
practices our staff follow
- Making sure our products and
services meet relevant laws and regulations
- Our dealings with you will rest on
ethical principles of integrity and
transparency.
-
Help you to understand how our
financial products and services work by:
- Giving you information about them
in plain Hindi and/or English and/or the local
language
- Explaining their financial
implications and
- Helping you choose the one that
meets your needs.
-
Deal quickly and sympathetically
with things that go wrong by:
- Correcting mistakes quickly
- Handling your complaints quickly
- Telling you how to take your
complaint forward if you are still not satisfied
and
- Reversing any bank charges that we
apply due to our mistake.
-
Publicise this Code, put it on
our website and have copies available for you on
request.
3. INFORMATION
Helping
you to choose products and services, which meet your
needs
3.1 Before you become a customer, we will:
- give you clear information explaining the key
features of the services and products you tell us
you are interested in.
- give you information on any type of
account facility which we offer and may suit your
needs .
- tell you what information we need from you to
prove your identity and address and to comply with
legal and regulatory requirements, and
- request for additional information about you and
your family to build a database but such information
can be furnished by you only if you wish and we will
not compel you to give this information for opening
your account.
3.2
We will tell you if we offer products and
services in more than one way [for example, through ATMs
on the internet, over the phone, in branches and so on]
and tell you how to find out more about them.
3.3 Once you have chosen an account or
service, we will tell you how it works.
3.4 When
you open a single account or a joint account, we will
give you information on your rights and
responsibilities.
3.5 We
recommend that you avail nomination facility offered on
all deposit accounts, articles in safe custody and safe
deposit vaults.
3.6 We
will guide you how we will deal with deposits and other
assets held with us in the name of a deceased person in
the absence of nomination.
4. INTEREST RATES
4.1 You can find out about our interest rates
by:
- looking at the notices in our branches.
- phoning our branches or help-lines.
- looking on our website; or.
- asking our designated staff..
4.2 When you become a customer, we will give
you information on the interest rates which apply to
your accounts, and when we will pay interest on your
deposits or debit interest on your loan accounts. We
will also tell you our website address, our help-line
numbers and the other ways in which you can find out
about changes in the interest rates.
4.3 We will
explain how we apply interest to your account.
4.4 Changes
in interest rates:- When we change the interest
rates on our products, we will update the information on
our telephone help-line and our website within three
working days.
4.5 Interest
on savings accounts:- At the time of opening of
the account, we will inform you of the rate at which
interest is paid on your savings deposits [presently, it
is regulated by Reserve Bank of India], how it is
calculated and its periodicity. |
|
