Bank of Baroda has suspended over 60 employees, including 11 assistant general managers (AGMs), for irregularities in its mobile banking app, BOB World. The action is part of a rectification drive based on an audit of the app.
According to people familiar with the matter, most of the suspended employees are from the Vadodara region. The employees have been accused of feeding unauthorized mobile numbers into customer accounts and registering and deregistering them from BOB World without their consent.
One of the suspended employees told that he will only receive one-third of his salary during the suspension period. He said that if he is found guilty, he could be given a punishment posting or even sacked. If he is found not guilty, the bank will give him a compensation salary for the months of suspension.
The RBI had suspended onboarding of new customers to BOB World in October 2023, after media reports alleged that the app was tampering with customer accounts. The RBI had said that the action was based on certain material supervisory concerns observed in the manner of onboarding customers onto the app.
Bank of Baroda is expected to submit a rectification report to the RBI in the next two weeks.