Rising Tide of Complaints: RBI Takes Action Against Credit Bureaus

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently taken significant steps to address the increasing number of customer complaints against Credit Information Companies (CICs). This move reflects the RBI’s commitment to ensuring the accuracy and reliability of credit reporting in India, which plays a crucial role in the country’s financial system.

Key Developments and RBI’s Actions

  1. Rising Customer Complaints: The number of complaints lodged by customers against CICs has been on the rise, prompting the RBI to scrutinize these firms’ operations more closely. This increase in complaints primarily revolves around issues of inaccurate or incomplete credit information maintained by CICs.
  2. Fines Imposed on Credit Bureaus: In June 2023, the RBI fined all four major credit bureaus in India approximately ₹25 lakhs each. This action was taken as these bureaus were found to be maintaining inaccurate and incomplete information about their customers.
  3. Focused Meeting with CICs: RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J. held a meeting with the top executives of these CICs. In this meeting, he outlined several areas needing immediate attention to address customer concerns. These areas include improving data quality, ensuring timely redressal of customer complaints, strengthening the internal ombudsman framework, streamlining the process for handling data correction requests, enhancing cybersecurity and data privacy, and addressing concerns related to the usage of data for consulting and analytics.

RBI’s New Compensation Framework

The RBI introduced a significant compensation framework, effective six months from its release, to ensure prompt and accurate credit reporting and to hold CIs and CICs accountable:

  1. Compensation for Delayed Resolution: Customers filing complaints about delayed credit information updates are now entitled to receive compensation of Rs 100 for each day beyond 30 calendar days from the date of filing, if their complaint remains unresolved.
  2. Roles and Responsibilities of CIs and CICs: Under this framework, credit institutions are mandated to update credit information promptly. CICs are responsible for resolving customer complaints within 30 calendar days, provided they receive updated information from CIs within 21 calendar days.
  3. Information and Proportional Compensation: Both CIs and CICs are required to inform complainants about the actions taken on their complaints, including reasons for rejection. If there are delays beyond 30 calendar days, compensation is apportioned among the involved CIs and CICs proportionately.
  4. Resolution and Recourse for Customers: The resolution date is considered when the rectified Credit Information Report (CIR) is sent to the complainant. In case of wrongful denial of compensation, complainants can approach the RBI Ombudsman or the Consumer Education and Protection Cell (CEPC) at RBI Regional Offices.

Impact and Significance

  • Enhancing Transparency and Accountability: This proactive approach by the RBI is expected to enhance transparency, accountability, and customer satisfaction in credit reporting. It underscores the central bank’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the financial system and protecting consumer rights.
  • Improving Credit Reporting Practices: The steps taken by the RBI are aimed at improving the overall functioning and reliability of the credit information system, which is pivotal in the context of India’s growing economy and the increasing reliance on credit facilities by individuals and businesses.

Share:

MORE STORIES

## Navigating the AI Revolution: 5 Trending Google Ads Topics for Marketers As Google Ads continues its rapid evolution, staying ahead of the curve is paramount for digital marketers. The platform’s increasing reliance on artificial intelligence, shifting privacy landscapes, and the introduction of new campaign types are creating a fresh set of challenges and opportunities. Here are five top trending blog topics that delve into the most critical areas of Google Ads today. ### 1. The Rise of the Machines: Mastering AI-Powered Campaign Types Google is unequivocally betting on AI to drive the future of its advertising platform. A key area of focus for marketers is understanding and mastering AI-driven campaign types like Performance Max and Demand Gen. These campaigns automate targeting, bidding, and ad creation across Google’s entire inventory. A deep dive into strategies for providing the right inputs to these “black box” models, interpreting their performance, and understanding how to guide the AI for optimal results is a crucial topic for advertisers looking to succeed in this new era. ### 2. Beyond the Click: Navigating the New Landscape of Measurement and Attribution With the impending deprecation of third-party cookies and a growing emphasis on user privacy, the way advertisers measure success is undergoing a fundamental shift. This has propelled topics like enhanced conversions, consent mode, and the integration of first-party data to the forefront. Marketers are actively seeking guidance on how to implement these privacy-centric measurement solutions to gain a more accurate and holistic view of their campaign performance in a world without granular user tracking. ### 3. Creative is the New Targeting: Leveraging AI for Compelling Ad Experiences In an automated world, the creative has become a key differentiator. Google is investing heavily in AI-powered tools that can generate and optimize ad copy, images, and videos. Blog posts that explore how to effectively use these generative AI features to create a high volume of diverse and engaging ad creatives are gaining significant traction. This includes best practices for providing creative inputs, A/B testing AI-generated assets, and ensuring brand consistency across automated campaigns. ### 4. The Evolution of Search: Adapting to a More Conversational and Visual SERP The traditional keyword-based search is evolving. Users are increasingly employing longer, more conversational queries, and Google is responding with a more visual and AI-driven search engine results page (SERP). This shift requires a re-evaluation of traditional keyword research and bidding strategies. Trending discussions revolve around how to adapt to this new reality, including the role of broad match keywords, the importance of high-quality creative in visual search formats, and strategies for capturing intent in a more conversational search landscape. ### 5. Future-Proofing Your Strategy: The Growing Importance of a Full-Funnel Approach As automation takes over many of the manual levers within Google Ads, the focus is shifting towards a more strategic, full-funnel marketing approach. Advertisers are looking for insights on how to effectively use different Google Ads campaign types to guide users through the entire customer journey, from initial awareness to final conversion and retention. This includes discussions on how to structure campaigns to complement each other, allocate budgets across the funnel, and measure the impact of upper-funnel activities on bottom-line results.

Google Ads is in the midst of a quiet revolution—one driven by artificial intelligence, privacy-first regulations, and a rapidly changing search landscape. For digital marketers,

Send Us A Message