Do you face problems in getting regular updates of your banking transactions? Worry no more. Help is at hand. Ask your bank to issue a passbook. If it doesn’t, show it the Reserve Bank’s directive that requires it to do so. If it still demurs, lodge a complaint with the banking ombudsman.

Banks are now required by RBI and the Banking Codes and Standard Board of India to identify basic banking services and offer these to customers at reasonable charges. Banks are also required to put in place a complaint redressal cell to take care of customers’ interests.

Account statement

At present, some private sector banks give only quarterly statements of accounts, while almost all public sector banks issue passbooks to their savings bank account holders who are individuals.

These statements are sent to customers through post — the liability of the loss of the document in transit is the customer’s. If anyone wants to pick it up from the branch or get the statements on a monthly or weekly basis, he or she will be charged for this.

“I have to fork out Rs 28 everytime I want to secure the statement of my savings bank account. The mini-statement that I get from the bank’s ATM gives me only the last 10 transactions,” said Shantanu Chatterjee, a customer of a leading private sector bank.

Some banks even charge for balance enquiry through ATMs. And the ATM-cum-debit card that your bank has offered you free initially is not a lifetime free card. The bank might not have told you that after an initial period of two or three years, you will have to pay an annual fee for this facility.

Passbook facility

The RBI had directed banks to offer savings bank account holders the option of the passbook facility and said the cost of the facility will have to be borne by the bank in question. The apex bank has said in a circular that if the customer chooses to secure a statement of account, banks must issue monthly and not quarterly statements. “Banks are advised to invariably offer pass book facility to all its savings bank account holders (individuals),” it said.

It also noted: “The decision of discontinuing the pass book system has been taken unilaterally by banks, causing much inconvenience to account holders. It has also come to our notice that these banks are issuing statements to account holders at quarterly intervals instead of monthly as stipulated. Such statements could be lost in postal transit. Besides, it would indirectly lead to the financial exclusion of small customers who cannot monitor their accounts as they do not have any access to the computer or the Internet.”

Cheque deposit

In a separate circular, the central bank has also directed banks to make available to their customers both the options for cheque deposit — drop-box facility as well as acknowledgement through pay-in slip over the counter. Many banks, both in the public and private sector, do not receive cheques at counters in the bank branch and give an acknowledgement of receipt on the counterfoil of the pay-in slip. Instead, they insist that customers deposit their cheques in drop-boxes provided at the branch or at the offsite ATM location.

This often causes inconveniences such as misplacement or loss of cheques and delayed receipt.

Charge details

The Reserve Bank has also directed banks to display and update on their websites, as also in their offices and branches, the details of the charges prescribed by them for various services.

Doorstep banking

And if things go as RBI wishes, you may soon enjoy the facility of doorstep banking. In a notification issued on February 21, the RBI has advised banks to formulate a scheme to provide banking services such as cash collection and delivery and cheque collection at the premises of a customer.

Banks can provide doorstep banking services either themselves or through agents. Banks may specifically consider prescribing cash limits for their agents and customers.

The operation of the scheme may also be reviewed by the boards of banks on a half-yearly basis during the first year and subsequently on an annual basis, the RBI said.

The RBI Working Group on Reasonableness of Bank Charges is of the view that as of now, the banks’ service charges are not based on cost and most banks are not sure of the cost of their services.The charges for balance inquiry, a visit to branches and book keeping charges are “unfair and unreasonable”.