Navi Mumbai: RBI Intervenes as Bandhan Bank Neglects to Credit Interest for Senior Couple’s Fixed Deposit

Navi Mumbai, 1st October 2024: The Vashi branch of Bandhan Bank has been ordered to pay Rs 20,000 to a senior couple for failing to credit a day’s interest on their fixed deposit. The couple, along with their son, pursued the issue with the bank and eventually escalated their complaint to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which ruled in their favour.

The couple, Rama Gupta, 64, and her husband Deepak Gupta, residents of Kopar Khairane, hold accounts at the Vashi branch of Bandhan Bank. Their son, Anuj Kumar Gupta, filed the complaint after his parents opened a fixed deposit (FD) account online on January 15 this year, although the bank issued a receipt dated January 16. According to RBI regulations, banks must provide interest from the date the FD is opened.

Anuj stated that they repeatedly contacted the bank for a resolution. After several days without a satisfactory response, they formally complained on January 24. The bank responded by claiming that its internal rules state that transactions must be completed by 11:10 PM for interest to be credited that day. Since the FD process was initiated at 11:12 PM, they contended that the couple was ineligible for interest for that day. The bank’s reply suggested that if they were unsatisfied, they could approach the Banking Ombudsman at the RBI.

Following this advice, the family reached out to the RBI to escalate their grievance. The RBI reviewed the documents and the complaint, then contacted Bandhan Bank’s officials before issuing an order to credit the missed interest of Rs 187, which was added to the couple’s account on March 15, 2024. Additionally, the RBI awarded Rs 20,000—split into Rs 10,000 each—as compensation for the mental distress caused. This compensation was credited to the couple’s account on September 19, 2024.

Bandhan Bank branch manager Rikhab Chopra confirmed the incident, explaining, “There was a default in timing in the system for End of Day (EOD) transactions. This issue has now been resolved, and the interest has been credited to the couple’s account.”