The customer complaints against banks are increasing and the Government seems worried about it. Under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 13,34,244 complaints were received in FY 2024-25 compared to 11,75,075 in FY 2023-24, reflecting a 13.55% rise. Click here to read complaints data.
The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, has taken several important initiatives to improve and streamline the grievance redressal mechanism in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector.
To strengthen customer trust and ensure effective grievance resolution, the Secretary (Financial Services) personally reviews 20 randomly selected grievances every month. During these review meetings, citizens are given an opportunity to directly present their concerns related to the BFSI sector in the presence of Chairpersons, Managing Directors, CEOs and senior management of the concerned organizations. This initiative has had a positive impact and has helped in building greater confidence among customers in the financial services sector.
So far, 15 such review meetings have been conducted, and a total of 300 grievances have been closely examined to assess the quality of their resolution. Similar review meetings are also organized by Joint Secretaries of the Department. Based on this experience, Chairpersons, MDs and CEOs of financial institutions have also started conducting similar grievance review exercises at their own organizational level. The main objective of this initiative is to evaluate the effectiveness of grievance resolution through a “dip-stick survey” at the highest level of the Department.
In addition, the first round of CPGRAM (Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System) workshops on effective grievance redressal mechanisms was successfully completed in 2025 for all Public Sector Banks. Workshops were also organized with financial regulators to strengthen grievance handling:
- A workshop with PFRDA was held on 04 August 2025
- A workshop with RBI was held on 13 October 2025
These workshops were attended by Grievance Redressal Officers, senior management officials and Ombudsmen from across the country. The workshops helped organizations identify and address the root causes of grievances, thereby improving the quality of grievance resolution and reducing repeat complaints. A similar workshop with IRDAI and Grievance Redressal Officers of Insurance Companies is scheduled to be held on 19 December 2025 in Hyderabad.
To further improve customer service at the branch level, Public Sector Banks have been advised to introduce technology-based mechanisms to collect customer feedback. This includes tools such as voice calls, emails, QR codes and other digital platforms, so that customers and visitors can easily share their feedback on services received.
As part of efforts to strengthen the grievance redressal framework, DFS initiated a ranking system for Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks and Public Sector Insurance Companies starting from June 2025. The ranking is based on the quality and timeliness of grievance redressal. This initiative has significantly improved performance by encouraging faster turnaround time (TAT), better transparency in communication with customers, and enhanced customer service training within organizations. The ranking of Private Sector Insurance Companies is also planned and is currently in the pipeline.
Furthermore, DFS launched the Financial Institutions Interaction Program in December 2025. Under this program, meetings are held with selected financial institutions based on grievances received through the CPGRAM portal. In the first phase, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) have been selected for focused interaction and review.
