Customer Service of Goiporia Committee

The Reserve Bank of India was forced to make an improved and versatile law for the banking sector. Due to this, RBI established many committees like the Narasimham Committee, Ghosh Committee, PJ Nayak Committee and tasked them with certain responsibilities to implement in the banking sector.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) among all the committees, established the Goiporia Committee in 1990. M.N. Goiporia who was an Indian career banker and also served as the fourteenth Chairman of State Bank of India was the Chairman of the Goiporia Committee. The Goiporia Committee was tasked with investigating and recommending ways to improve customer service in banks.

The Goiporia Committee suggested several recommendations to improve the scale of customer service in Indian banks and submitted a progress report to Regional Offices every three months.

Recommendations made by the Goiporia Committee which are to be implemented by the primary banks are as follows:

• The Counter Service

Employees are expected to be at their workstations at the start of business hours and to attend to all the customers who visit the branch before the closing hours. However, many banks tend to open the counters at their own suitable time and do not attend to a customer who is in line at the closing hours. On the other hand, in order to ensure that the service to customers is available at the start of business hours they set the working hours of the staff 15 minutes before the beginning of the working hours. These changes can be made by the banks in the metropolitan and urban areas.

• Increasing the Working Hours for the Non-cash Transactions

• Non-voucher Transactions

1. Passbook distribution.
2. Cheque book distribution.
3. Term deposit receipt distribution.
4. Accepting cleared cheques.

• Transactions that Generate Vouchers:

1. Distribution of term deposits receipts (TDR).
2. Acceptance of cheques for locker rent.
3. Issuing traveler’s checks.
4. Distribution of gift cheques
5. Individual cheques are accepted for transfer credit.

• Service Without Interruptions

Banks may develop appropriate procedures to make sure that no counter remains unanswered during working hours and the customers receive uninterrupted service by making sufficient relief arrangements as needed.

Advice To Customers

Except for the smaller branches, all branches should have a help desk. Depending on the situation, such counters may help customers with their queries or may be combined with other functions. Such counters should be located at the entrance of the banking hall.

Accounts And Deposits

Facilities For Nomination

Banks may adjust account opening forms to include a space for the nominee’s name and address, and classification depended nomination forms may be obtained and stored with the account opening forms. The availability of the nomination facility should be heavily reported by printing suitable texts on cheque books/passbooks and any other writing that reaches customers.

Unless the customer prefers to nominate, nominations should be a rule that applies to all other existing and new accounts.

Passbook For Savings Account Statements

Banks may implement controls to ensure that passbooks are kept up to date and that complete and correct information is written in understandable handwriting. Customers must be educated about the importance of submitting the passbook. 

Multilingual booklets and pamphlets containing a wealth of customer-useful information should be actively promoted.

The limit for instant credit of outstation cheques could be increased to Rs. 5,000. The facility may necessitate the development of a separate type of compensation.

At a rate of 2% per annum above the savings bank rate interest, delays in collecting outstation cheques may be a pay-in-slip if the amount of interest payable is Rs. 5/- or more. However, if borrowed accounts proceed to be credited, such as cash credit, banks must pay at the minimum lending set by the RBI.

A complaint book with removable copies in each set may be initiated so that the customer is immediately acknowledged and the controlling office is notified.

Infrastructure amenities at branches should be improved by paying special attention to providing sufficient space, appropriate furniture, drinking water facilities, and so on.

Some Guidelines set by the Goiporia Committee

Banks are required to form a Customer Service Committee of the Board, which must include experts and customer representatives as invitees.

• Comprehensive deposit policy formulation
• With appropriateness, view the product approval process
• Semiannual audit services

Conclusion

Goiporia Committee was established by the Reserve Bank of India in 1990 to improve customer service and implement rules to make banks work more efficiently and swiftly without any concerning problems. The rules are to be implemented in all primary banks in India.