Customer Compensation Policy

Introduction

Airtel Payments Bank offers high levels of service to its customers. In the event, for some reasons beyond the control of the bank or inadvertently, the bank is unable to meet the service levels committed in the dealings with individual customer, this compensation policy will be applicable. The Compensation policy is therefore, designed to cover areas relating to unauthorized debiting of account, remittances within India, foreign exchange services, etc. The policy is based on principles of transparency and fairness in the treatment of customers.

Objective

The objective of this policy is to establish a system whereby the bank compensates the customer for any financial loss he/she might incur due to deficiency in service on the part of the bank or any act of omission or commission directly attributable to the bank. By ensuring that the customer is compensated without having to ask for it, the bank expects to minimize instances wherein the customer has to approach Banking Ombudsman or any other Forum for redressal.

Applicability

This Policy is applicable to all the customers of the Airtel Payments Bank. It is further reiterated that the policy covers only compensation for financial losses in real terms for specific value which customers might incur due to deficiency in the services offered by the bank which can be measured directly and as such the commitments under this policy are without prejudice to any right the bank will have in defending its position before any forum duly constituted to adjudicate banker-customer disputes. The policy does not cover and is not applicable in respect of claims made by customers on account of opportunity losses or damages or claims pertaining to reputation loss.

Recognition of deficiency:

• Un-authorized / Erroneous Debit: If the bank has raised an unauthorized/erroneous direct debit to an account and upon being informed of the erroneous debit, the entry will be reversed, after due verification. In such cases, the Bank will compensate the customer, by way of loss of savings account interest due on savings bank deposit or any charges levied for balance falling below minimum balance requirement. In case verification of the entry reported to be erroneous by the customer does not involve a third party, the bank shall arrange to complete the process of verification within a maximum period of seven working days from the date of reporting of erroneous debit. In case, the verification involves a third party, the bank shall complete the verification process within a maximum period of one month from the date of reporting of erroneous transaction by the Customer.
• Direct debits to accounts: With the implementation of direct debit functionality, the bank shall undertake to carry out direct debit of customers in time subject to (a) Customer having already provided valid and complete mandate duly authenticated by the bank to accept such debits (b) Direct debit received is complete and correct. The Bank undertakes to carry out, within the prescribed time, direct debit instructions of customers. In the event of non-compliance/delayed compliance of instructions by the Bank to meet such commitments, the customer will be compensated to the extent of any financial loss the customer would incur on account of delay in carrying out the instruction/failure to carry out the instruction. Such compensation may be equivalent to the interest calculated on the amount to be debited for the delayed period, at applicable Savings Bank rate. The bank would debit the customer’s account with any applicable service charge as per the schedule of charges notified by the bank. In the event the bank levies any charge in violation of the arrangement, the bank will reverse the charges when pointed out by the customer subject to scrutiny of agreed terms and conditions. Any consequential financial loss to the customer will also be compensated.
• Levy of excess service charges : The bank would debit the customer’s account with any applicable service charge as per the schedule of charges notified by the bank. In the event the bank levies any charge in violation of the arrangement, the bank will reverse the charges with value when pointed out by the customer subject to scrutiny of agreed terms and conditions and such other terms and conditions as may be communicated from time to time.
• Penal interest payable for delays in credit / return of NEFT/IMPS / ECS transactions: In terms of the RBI guidelines on payment of interest for instances of delay in affording credits/return of RTGS/NEFT/NECS/ECS transactions, Airtel Payments bank undertakes to afford the credits to destination account holders or return the instruction to the remitting bank within the prescribed time line. In cases where it is not possible to afford the credits to the beneficiary account within the prescribed time line without any valid reasons, customer will be compensated for the delayed period of credit at the rate of RBI LAF repo rate + 2%.
• Debit Cards-disputed transactions : The Debit Card holder shall be responsible for all transactions approved on his/her debit card prior to report of the loss to the Bank as per bank’s Debit card terms and conditions, as amended from time to time and prevalent at the time of such event. Transactions reported as erroneous by customers in respect of debit card operations, which require specific reference to a merchant establishment will be handled as per Chargeback Rules laid down by MasterCard International. The Bank will provide explanation and if necessary, documentary evidence to the customer in line with chargeback rules of Mastercard.
• Erroneous Debits Arising on account of Fraudulent or Other Transactions: In case of a claim raised by any of the customers, the bank shall investigate the matter in its entirety and if the bank is convinced that an irregularity /fraud has been committed by its staff towards any constituent, the bank will acknowledge its liability and pay the just claim. In cases where the bank is at fault, the bank will compensate the customer without demur. In cases where neither the bank nor the customer is at fault, but the fault lies elsewhere in the system, the matter would be required to be referred/escalated to the appropriate Grievance Redressal Mechanism/authorities.
• Unsuccessful or Failed Transactions: Large number of customer complaints emanate on account of unsuccessful or ‘Failed’ transactions. Failure could be on account of various factors not directly attributable to the customer such as disruption of communication links, time out of sessions, non-credit to beneficiary’s account due to various causes, etc. Rectification / Compensation paid to the customer for these ‘failed’ transactions is not uniform. Wherever financial compensation is involved, the same shall be effected to the customer’s account suo moto, without waiting for a complaint or claim from the customer.

Incidents along with TAT and Compensation to be paid are given below:

• Turn Around Time (TAT): The principle behind the turnaround time (TAT) is based on the following: if the transaction is a ‘credit-push’ funds transfer and the beneficiary account is not credited while the debit to the originator has been effected, then the credit must be completed within the prescribed time period, failing which a penalty is payable to the beneficiary; if there is a delay in initiating the transaction at the originator bank’s end beyond the TAT, then a penalty is payable to the originator. This principle ensures timely processing and fair compensation in case of delays. It may be noted that the prescribed turnaround time (TAT) is the maximum time allowed for resolving failed transactions. The Bank shall, however, strive to resolve such transactions faster to ensure better customer experience.
• Violation of the Code by banks agent: In the event of receipt of any complaint from the customer that the bank’s representative has engaged in any improper conduct or acted in violation of the Code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers which the bank has adopted voluntarily, bank shall take appropriate steps to investigate and to handle the complaint and to revert to the customer within seven days from the date of receipt of complaint and wherever justified, shall compensate the customer for financial losses, if any.
• Compensation Policy for any delay in Atal Pension Yojana (APY) services on part of PoP-APY: In case of a claim raised by the customer, the bank shall investigate the matter in its entirety and if the bank is convinced that there is delay in services, the bank will acknowledge its liability and pay the claim as prescribed below.

Incidents along with TAT and Compensation to be paid are given below:

Customer’s Responsibility

(i) Bank will not be responsible for the loss to the customers due to customer's carelessness in maintaining the card information, MPIN or other security information and not following "Do's and Don'ts" issued by the Bank, until the Bank has been notified by the customer. Customer acts fraudulently and/or acts without reasonable care which has resulted in loss to him/her.

(ii) Bank will also not be responsible for the losses arising out of misuse of lost PIN, compromise of passwords or confidential information, until the time the Bank has been notified of such loss/compromise and has taken steps to prevent its misuse.

Filling Complaint with Ombudsman

Customers who do not get the benefit of redress of the failure as defined in the TAT, can register a complaint with the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (as amended from time to time).

Disclaimer Clause

Notwithstanding anything contained here above, the Bank shall not pay any compensation in the following cases:-

• a)     Delays on account of non-functioning of business due to factors beyond the control of the bank the period covered by such events shall be omitted for calculation of delay etc.
• b) Where the issues are sub-judice and pending before Courts, Ombudsman, arbitrator , Government and matter put on hold due to stay.

Roles & Responsibilities of the Bank:

(i) The Bank shall ensure that the Compensation Policy is available on the Bank’s website as well as at Bank’s branches for the reference by customers. The Bank shall also ensure that existing customers are individually informed about the bank’s policy.

(ii) The Bank will regularly conduct awareness on carrying out safe electronic banking transactions to its customers and staff. Information of Safe Banking practices will be made available through campaigns on any or all of the following - website, emails, Net Banking, Mobile Banking. Such information will include rights and obligation of the customers as well as non-disclosure of sensitive information e.g. password, PIN, OTP, Date of Birth, MPIN (see out content in account statement over mail) etc.

(iii) The Bank should communicate to its customers to mandatorily register for SMS alerts. The Bank will send SMS alerts to all valid registered mobile numbers for all debit electronic banking transactions. The Bank may also send alert by email where email Id has been registered with the Bank.

(iv) The Bank will enable various modes for reporting of unauthorized transaction by customers. These may include SMS, Call Centre, Email, Website, Toll Free Number, IVR, Phone Banking or through its branches. The Bank will also enable specific space on its home page where customers can report unauthorized electronic banking transaction.

(v) The Bank shall respond to customer’s notification of unauthorized electronic banking transaction with acknowledgement specifying Complaint Number, date and time of transaction alert sent and date and time of receipt of customer’s notification. On receipt of customer’s notification, the Bank will take immediate steps to prevent further unauthorized electronic banking transactions in the account or card.

(vi) The Bank shall ensure that all such complaints are resolved and liability of customer if any, established within a maximum of 90 days from the date of receipt of complaint, failing which, bank would pay compensation as described in this policy.

(vii) During investigation, in case it is detected that the customer has falsely claimed or disputed a valid transaction, the bank reserves its right to take due preventive action of the same including closing the account, blocking card limits or other course of actions, as per governing laws of land.

(viii) The Bank may restrict customer from conducting electronic banking transaction including ATM transaction in case of non-availability of customer’s mobile number.

(ix) This policy should be read in conjunction with the latest Policies/Guidelines, Product & Services Features, Terms and condition, notices, information etc. placed in website of the Bank. Clauses from the Bank’s Grievance Redressal Policy shall form a part of this policy where not specifically addressed in this policy.

Force Majeure

The bank shall not be liable to compensate customers for delayed credit if some unforeseen event (including but not limited to civil commotion, sabotage, lockout, strike or other labour disturbances, accident, fires, natural disasters or other “Acts of God”, war, damage to the bank’s facilities or of its correspondent bank(s), absence of the usual means of communication or all types of transportation, etc. beyond the control of the bank prevents it from performing its obligations within the specified service delivery parameters

Timelines for payment of Compensation amount

In case the Bank is liable to pay any compensation in accordance with the Policy, the same would be paid to the complainant within 15 working days from the completion of the investigation.

Amendment / Modification of the Policy

The Bank reserves the right to amend/modify this policy, as and when deemed fir and proper at its sole discretion. However, the Bank shall endeavor to review the Policy at annual intervals.

General

Acceptance of the compensation by the customers under this policy shall be deemed to be final settlement of all issues arising out of grievances for which compensation is claimed.

Policy Review & Updates

The policy will be reviewed annually in January or as and when any regulatory or internal changes done affecting the scope of Policy.

Regulatory References

This Policy should be read in conjunction with other Bank policies and procedures. This Policy should also be read in conjunction with the regulatory guidelines and shall be updated in line with the changes made in the regulatory guidelines as and when required

• Glossary

RBI: Reserve Bank of India

• Definitions

(i) ‘Failed transaction’ is a transaction which has not been fully completed due to any reason not attributable to the customer such as failure in communication links, non-availability of cash in an ATM, time-out of sessions, etc. Failed transactions shall also include the credits which could not be effected to the beneficiary account on account of lack of full information or lack of proper information and delay in initiating a reversal transaction.

(ii) Terms like, Acquirer, Beneficiary, Issuer, Remitter, etc., have meanings as per common banking parlance.

(iii) T is the day of transaction and refers to the calendar date.

(iv) R is the day on which the reversal is concluded and the funds are received by the issuer / originator. Reversal should be effected at the issuer / originator end on the same day when the funds are received from the beneficiary end.

(v) The term bank includes non-banks also and applies to them wherever they are authorized to operate.

(vi) Domestic transactions i.e., those where both the originator and beneficiary are within India are covered under this framework.

(vii) Real loss is defined as financial outgo from customer’s account e.g. debit to customer’s account or card.

(viii) “Card Not Present (CNP) Transactions” are defined as transactions that require use of Card information without card being physically used e.g. e-commerce transactions.

(ix) “Card Present (CP) Transactions” are defined as transactions that require use of physical card e.g. at ATM or Shops (POS).

(x) Payment transactions are defined as transactions that involve transfer of funds from one account/ wallet to another electronically and do not require card information e.g. NEFT.

(xi) “Unauthorized Transaction” is defined as debit to customer’s account without customer’s consent.

(xii) Number of days will be computed based on working days