The number of complaints filed under the Reserve Bank’s ombudsman schemes increased by over 68 per cent to 7.03 lakh in the fiscal 2022-23, according a report released on Monday.

The complaints pertained to mobile/electronic banking, loans and advances, ATM/debit cards, credit cards, pension payments, remittances, and para banking, among others.

The Annual Report of the Ombudsman Scheme 2022-23 is the first stand-alone report under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021 elucidating the activities of the 22 Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs), Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC) and the Contact Centre during the year.

“Under RB-IOS, 2021, there was a significant increase in number of complaints and a total of 7,03,544 complaints were received at the ORBIOs and CRPC in 2022-23, showing an increase of 68.24 per cent, due to intense public awareness initiatives and the simplified process for lodging of complaints under RB-IOS,” the report said.

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Complaints against banks formed the largest portion (1,96,635 complaints), accounting for 83.78 per cent of complaints received by the ORBIOs.As many as 2,34,690 complaints were handled by the ORBIOs and 4,68,854 were disposed at the CRPC.

RBI said the complaints disposed at the ORBIOs have an average turnaround time (TAT) of 33 days during 2022-23, which improved significantly from 44 days during 2021-22.

Majority (57.48 per cent) of maintainable complaints disposed under RB-IOS, 2021 were resolved through mutual settlement, conciliation, or mediation.

“Rest of the maintainable complaints were either rejected by RBIOs or withdrawn by the complainants or adjudicated by passing of awards,” the report said.

Complaints relating to mobile/electronic banking were the highest contributor to the total number of complaints received against banks as well as non-bank payment system participants, while complaints relating to non-adherence to fair practices code were the highest in respect of NBFCs.

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Chandigarh, NCT of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat were the top five contributors to ombudsman complaints, while Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh were the lowest contributors during 2022-23.