Customer Grievance Redressal Policy

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Effective date: 5th October 2020

Introduction:

The Bank customerservice and customer satisfaction is the prime concern of the bank. The Bank believesthatproviding prompt and efficient service is essential not only to attract new customers, but also to retain existing ones.


The Customer Grievance Redressal Policy of the Bank has been formulated in accordance with directions as stated in regulatory guidelines and frameworks relevant to Customer Service. The current policy outlines the framework for handling and resolving customer grievances


The Customer Grievance Redressal Policy outlines the framework for addressing the customer grievances. The Bank shallensure that the policy is made available in public domain (website and branches)


Objective of the Grievance Redressal Policy:


  • Customers are treated fairly at all times
  • Complaints raised by customers are dealt with courtesy and on time,
  • Customers are fully informed of avenues to escalate their complaints/grievances within the organization and their rights to alternative remedy, if they are not fully satisfied with the response of the bank to their complaints.

Definition of Request, Query and Complaint:

The bank has clearly defined Requests, Queries and Complaints so that customer issues are logged accurately. It is to be noted that examples mentioned below are illustrative.


A “Request” refers to a customer's expression of desire or need for assistance, information, or action fromtheservice provider. Example of the request can be: Customer requesting for Physical debit card, customer requesting for statement etc.


A "Query" typically refers to a question or inquiry posed by a customer seeking clarification, information, or assistance related to products, services, policies, or any other aspect of the Bank's offerings. Examples of the queries can be: When will I receive my cash back, where can I find my UTR no etc.


A "Complaint" refers a grievance disputing non–conformance of services/ products/ processes where an error has been committed by the bank. All queries and requests shall also be re-tagged as complaint once the claim is proven or the defined TAT has expired. Example:Money not refunded within 24 hours in PPBL account after failed UPI transaction.


Exclusions from the abovedefined definition of complaints:


  • Complaints / concerns raised by customers with the Bank, where the Bank is part of the transactional ecosystem, but where the underlying cause for grievance / concern is attributable to deficiency elsewhere (outside the Bank) in the overall transaction ecosystem, beyond the scope of influence of the Bank.
  • Complaints/ concerns raised by customers with the Bank, for reversal of charges/levies/ fees applied to his/heraccount(s) as part of the previously agreed and acceptedterms and conditions, or restoration of charges / fees paid by the customers as part ofthe account
  • Complaints / concerns raised by customers with the Bank, on action taken by the Bank in accordance with regulatory directions, with due notification(s) to the relevant customers, through appropriate channels (as per the information available to the Bank on its records), and where the customers have failed to act in accordance to comply with the directions notified by the Bank shall fall outside the purview of the aforesaid definition. Non-receipt of communication(s), in this regard from the Bank, for reasons where the contact details of the customer have undergone change and the customerhas not updated the same on the Banks records, shall not be considered as grounds for grievance.
  • Customer Queries, Doubts, Inquiries, Status, request and clarifications will not betreated as complaints Ex. non-receipt of deliverable (within TAT) etc.

Touch Points to report Customer Grievances:

  • Mobile App, IVR Help desk& Social–Frontend Channels
  • Grievance Officers and Physical Complaint/Suggestion register& drop box available at a Branch
  • Complaints received through Banking Ombudsman (BO), BCSBI and Centralized Public Grievance Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) of the Government of India

Logging and Tracking of Customer Grievances:

  • The customer will be given an acknowledgement/ticket number of his/her complaint within 1 working day
  • All customer complaints received through digital channels will be acknowledged through email/notificationalong with a need-based intimation to concerned Controlling office
  • An automated system will be devised to record digitally the customer complaints received through multiple channels, which will also be accessible to the branches and controlling offices to monitor and update the status of the complaint
  • Each of these complaints will be assigned a unique tracking number which will be shared with the customer for future reference and monitoring purpose

Escalation Matrix

  • Bank has a defined turn around time of 4 working days for all Queries, 14 working days for all Requests and 30 calendar days for Complaints.
  • Resolution time does not include timetaken by the customer to provide required information/documentation.
  • If any case/transaction is related to third party or outside bank entity then the TAT will be dependent on the respective clearing house/other banks /network providers/regulator. Resolution time will include this TAT along with Bank’s resolution time.
  • Bank will make all efforts to resolve the complaint in a timely manner but in case of any inadvertent situation where additional time is needed, Bank will inform the customer the reasons forthe delay and provide expected timelines for resolution of the issue.

If a customer is not satisfied with the resolution provided through various channels, the customer can escalate the issues to the next higher level, as displayed in the escalation matrix available at the branches/Bank’s website


Level 1: All front-end channels as mentioned in section above


Frontend Channels:

Online support in Mobile app (http://m.p-y.tm/care) or website (https://www.paytmbank.com/)
Phone - 0120-4456-456
PPBL Social Media channels


Level 2: Grievance Redressal Officer


Grievance RedressalOfficer: The Grievance Redressal Officer desk servesas a dedicated point of contact for customers who encounter issues or grievances with any aspect of our banking services.


Email: grievanceredressalofficer@paytmbank.com**
Phone: 0120-4899-234
Address: Paytm Payments Bank Limited,
B-121,Sector 5 Noida, Uttar Pradesh-201301


Level 3: Principal Nodal Officer (PNO)


Principal Nodal officer: If the customer is not satisfied with the resolution provided even after contacting various complaint resolution channels, the complaint may be escalated to the Principal Nodal Officer at:


Shri Raj Kumar Tripathi
Paytm Payments Bank Limited,
B-121, Sector 5 Noida, Uttar Pradesh-201301
Email: nodalofficer@paytmbank.com**
Phone Number: 0120-4809661


**Note While corresponding, please raise the issue along with related Query Reference Number/Ticket IDsfollowed by Paytm Payments Bank registered mobile number and transaction ID/Order ID (if any).

Internal Ombudsman of the Bank:

An Internal Ombudsman (IO) shall be appointed by the Bank as per the guidelines laid down the regulator. IO shall be the focal point for the internal grievance redressal system, so that least number of complaints are escalated to Banking Ombudsman. If the Bank decides to reject a complaint and/or decides to provide only partial relief to the complainant, it will be forwarded to the IO for further examination. The Internal Ombudsman shall not handle complaints received directly from the complainants or members of the public.


The following types of complaints shall be outside the purview of the Internal Ombudsman:


  • Complaints related to corporate frauds, misappropriation etc., except those resulting from deficiency in service, if any, on the part of the regulated entity;
  • References in the nature of suggestions and commercial decisions of regulated entity. However, service deficiencies in cases falling under 'commercial decisions' will be valid complaints for the Internal Ombudsman;
  • Complaints / references relating to (i) internal administration, (ii) human resources, or (iii) pay and emoluments of staff in the regulated entity;
  • Complaints which have been decided by or are already pending in other fora such as the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, courts, etc.;
  • Disputes for which remedy has been provided under Section 18 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.
  • The Bank shall forward all rejected / partially rejected complaints under the categories (a) and (b) above to the Internal Ombudsman/s.

For Business Correspondence: Redressal mechanism for grievances raised in-person

  • The Bank has appointed Grievance Officer whose primary task is to handle the customer grievances. A grievance officer (GO) is an employee of the bank, who is to act as a touch point for customers, in order to ensure seamless disposal of customer grievances and queries.
  • Each GO will be allocated few districts to handle customer’s grievances & channel management. The district wise list of Grievance Officers is accessible over Bank’s website link (https://www.paytmbank.com/Policies/grievance-officers). Alternatively, customer can SMS GO <Area Pincode> to 9223990641 to get the schedule of theGrievance Officer’s.
  • In case a customer walks-in ormeets grievance officers to raise the grievance, the official will help in resolving the grievance by educating the customer regarding the grievance redressal mechanism and escalating the grievance to the relevant escalation level.
  • For resolution of the grievance, the escalation matrix and the procedure, as mentioned above, will be followed

Redressal Channels outside the Bank: Banking Ombudsman

  • In case the customer is not satisfied with the response from the Bank within one month of raising the grievance, he/she can approach the Banking Ombudsman (BO) located in State Capitals for redressal
  • The Bank shall ensure that all final written responses to customers on complaints extended beyond 30 days contain the mandatory clause to make customers aware of their rights to approach the Banking Ombudsman
  • The contact details and the procedure for approaching the Banking Ombudsmen are provided at all the branches as well as here: https://cms.rbi.org.in/
  • Contact details of RBI Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC) are:
    Toll-free number – 14448
    Address - Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre, Reserve Bank of India, 4th Floor, Sector 17, Chandigarh –160017
  • The first point for redressal of complaints is the bank itself and the complainants may approach the BO only if the complaint is not resolved at the bank level within a month
  • For all the complaints received from the regulator, timelines as mandated by respective regulator will be adhered to.

Standing Committee on Customer Service

  • The Standing Committee may be chaired by the MD or the ED and include non-officials as its members to enable an independent feedback on the quality of customer service rendered by the bank
  • The Standing Committee may be entrusted not only with the task ofensuring timely and effective compliance of the RBI instructions on customer service, but also that of receiving the necessary feedback to determine that the action taken by various departments of the bank is in tune with the spirit and intent of such instructions.
  • The Standing Committee may review the practice and procedures prevalent in the bank and take necessary corrective action, on an ongoing basis as the intent is translated into action only through procedures and practices.
  • A brief report on the performance of the Standing Committee during its tenure indicating, inter alia, the areas reviewed, procedures / practices identified and simplified / introduced may be submitted periodically to the Customer Services Committee of the Board.

Customer Service Committee of the Board


Customer Service Committee of the Board shall review major areas of the customer grievances and the measures taken to improve customer service, on a periodic basis. The Committee will examine issues impacting customer service, decision / award issued by IO and later disposed-off by MD & CEO. The committee will may also suggest ongoing improvements in the quality of customer service provided by the banks

Report a fraud


Complaint regarding any fraudulent transaction in bank account/wallet or payment related transactions can be lodged at following,


Ticket number is generated for each complaint, which would enable the customer to track status


Resolution Time for Reported Frauds:


  • Bank’s internal resolution time –30 working days
  • Resolution time does not include time taken by the customer to provide required information/documentation
  • If any case/transaction is related to third party or outside bank entity then the TAT will be dependent on the respective clearing house/other banks /network providers/regulator. Resolution time will include this TAT along with Bank’s internal resolution time
  • Bank will make all efforts to resolve the complaint in a timely manner but in case of any inadvertent situation where additional time is needed, Bank will inform the customer the reasons for the delay and provide expected timelines for resolution of the issue
  • If the customer is not happy with the response, he/she can escalate it to the nodal officer as per details mentioned above.
  • It is always in the interest of customer to lodge complaint with the Bank without loss of time by furnishing complete details of fraudulent/unauthorised transactions
  • Customers are advised to lodge complaint with the police against the fraudster at the earliest for faster resolution of complaints.
  • In case the Bank is liable to pay any compensation, the same will be paid to the complainant as per the provisions of the ‘Customer Compensation Policy’ of the Bank

Publicizing Redressal Mechanism


The grievance redressal mechanism is appropriately displayed at the branches as well as on the Bank’s website to spread its awareness among customers

Sensitizing Staff on Handling Complaint's


The Bank staff will undergo regular training to ensure that consumers’ queries and grievances arehandled properly
They will be encouraged to work in a manner which will help the Bank in improving customer experience and building the consumer trust

Review of Policy


The policy has been approved by the Customer Service Committee of the Board and is reviewed wheneverrequired or at least annually. These reviews shall consider the following:

  • Internal factors such as changes in organizational structure or products and services offered
  • External factors such as changes in legislation or technological innovation
  • The results of audit, if any conducted during the year by internal / external auditors.

Regulatory References


  • RBI Master Circular on Customer Service in Banks dated July 1, 2015
  • IBA Model Policy for Grievance Redressal in Banks
  • IBA Fair Practice Code
  • IBA Model Customer Rights Policy
  • BCSBI Code of Commitment to Customers
  • RBI circular on 'Operating guidelines on Payments Bank' dated October 6, 2016
  • Reserve Bank of India-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (IOS), 2021 launched on November 12, 2021
  • Master Direction -Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2023 dated December 29, 2023

Disclaimer

  • The policy will be reviewed by the Board as and when required or at least annually to incorporate regulatory updates/changes, if any
  • The records pertaining to customer complaints will be maintained as may be required as per the KYC/AML policy of the Bank
  • In the event of any conflict between the "Customer Grievance Redressal Policy" of the PPBL in the English language listed at https://www.paytmbank.com/Policies/Customer-Grievance-Redressal-Policy-for-Paytm-Payments-Bank and the translated version of the "Customer Grievance Redressal Policy" in concerned local language updated on PPBL website, the English version shall prevail.