The RBI issued the Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2023.
Applicability
(1) These Directions shall apply to
(a) Banks as defined under clause 3(1)(a) of these Directions and having 10 or more banking outlets in India, whether such bank is incorporated in India or outside India;
(b) NBFCs as defined under clause 3(1)(j) of these Directions and fulfilling the following criteria as on date:
- Deposit-taking NBFCs (NBFCs-D) with 10 or more branches;
- Non-deposit-taking NBFCs (NBFCs-ND) with asset size of Rs.5,000 crore and above and having public customer interface;
(c) All NBSPs as defined in Clause 3(1)(k) of these Directions with more than one crore Pre-paid Payment Instruments outstanding as on March 31, 2023, or thereafter. However, the Scheme shall continue to be applicable even if the number of Pre-paid Payment Instruments outstanding falls below the threshold at a later date;
(d) All Credit Information Companies as defined under clause 3(1)(e).
(2) Any regulated entity, subsequent to the issue of these Directions, reaching the threshold/s prescribed under clause 4(1) shall come under the ambit of these Directions and hence would be required to put in place an Internal Ombudsman framework within six months of reaching the threshold.
(3) The Reserve Bank, if it is satisfied in public interest, may, by order, direct any regulated entity to appoint an Internal Ombudsman and these directions shall apply to that regulated entity.
Link – https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12586&Mode=0
About the Author
