The Reserve Bank of India has issued a notification regarding new bank locker rules, and if you are planning to open a bank locker soon you should be aware of them. The new bank locker rules have come into effect from the beginning of this year, and were notified last year by the central bank. The new rules are more consumer-friendly and have been issued by the RBI after grievances of bank locker holders. They have been designed to make the consumer experience more safe and secure.
Here is a look at the key RBI bank locker guidelines effective from January 1, 2022, that might affect you:
1. Banks to Compensate 100 Times the Locker Rent: Under the new rules, banks will be asked to pay the customer in case there is a loss of content from the bank locker due to negligence on the lender’s part. This amount will be equal to 100 times the annual rent of the bank locker. “As banks cannot claim that they bear no liability towards their customers for loss of contents of the locker, in instances where the loss of contents of the locker are due to incidents mentioned above or attributable to fraud committed by its employee(s), the banks’ liability shall be for an amount equivalent to one hundred times the prevailing annual rent of the safe deposit locker,” says the RBI notification.
2. Vacant Locker List to Be Displayed: The RBI has said that in order to maintain transparency, banks will have to acknowledge each locker application with a waitlist number. The number of vacant lockers also needs to be displayed as things were opaque before this and customers were kept in the dark. “The banks shall acknowledge the receipt of all applications for allotment of the locker and provide a waitlist number to the customers if the lockers are not available for allotment,” the RBI said.
3. Email and SMS Alerts: Banks will have to send SMS and email notification every time a bank locker is accessed by a user. This rule has been put in place to avoid frauds. “Banks shall send an email and SMS alert to the registered email ID and mobile number of the customer before the end of the day as a positive confirmation intimating the date and time of the locker operation and the redressal mechanism available in case of unauthorized locker access,” says the RBI.
4. CCTV Footage Mandatory: Banks are required to install CCTVs and store the data for 180 days to monitor the entry and exits of the locker room. “In case any customer has complained to the bank that his/her locker is opened without his/her knowledge and authority, or any theft or security breach is noticed/observed, the bank shall preserve the CCTV recording till the police investigation is completed and the dispute is settled,” says the RBI notice.
5. Banks Can Charge 3 Years of Rent: Under the new bank locker rules, banks are allowed to only charge three years of rent as term deposit. So for lockers with an annual charge of Rs 4,000, banks cannot charge more than Rs 12,000, excluding other maintenance charges.
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