BANKERS’ GUIDE              
               FOR CUSTOMERS            
            WITH SPECIAL NEEDS       
                         AND                           
      PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 
                                          
           IBA - BANKERS’ GUIDE FOR CUSTOMERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 
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             RULES, DIRECTIVES AND ACTS FOR 
           CUSTOMERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND 
                  PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 
                                     
               Compiled by Indian Banks Association  
         (IBA Working Group on Banking Facilities for Persons 
                          with Special Needs) 
        
                           November 2017 
                         
                 “Accessibility of banking services is critical to build 
                   financial inclusion for Persons with Disabilities” 
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                 IBA - BANKERS’ GUIDE FOR CUSTOMERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 
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           About the Book 
           This handbook is a compilation of rules and regulations related to inclusive banking that 
           needs to be complied to ensure effective implementation of the obligations and legislations 
           available for customers with special needs and persons with disabilities.  
            
           Compilation of rules, acts and guidelines are updated as on November 2017. 
            
           The purpose of this document is to serve as a ready reference of all relevant information in 
           one place for bankers as well as for persons with special needs and disabilities. This 
           book will help in spreading awareness and to sensitize bank staff about the rights of persons 
           with disabilities. Bank staff needs to ensure stricter implementation of the guidelines issued 
           by the RBI and other regulatory agencies. 
            
                Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules mandate that all banking services must be offered 
                 to  blind  and  low  vision  customers  without  any  discrimination.  RBI  guidelines  also 
                 ensure that all the banking facilities such as cheque book facility including third party 
                 cheques, ATM facility, net banking facility, locker facility, retail loans and credit cards 
                 are invariably offered to the visually challenged without any discrimination. 
                  
                Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) procedural guidelines also state that blind and low 
                 vision customers must be offered all banking services without any discrimination, on 
                 par with sighted customers. 
                  
                Banking  Codes  and  Standards  Board  of  India  (BCSBI)‟s  code  of  bank‟s 
                 commitment states “We will make our best efforts to make it easy and convenient for 
                 our special customers like senior citizens, differently-abled and illiterate persons to 
                 bank with us”. 
                  
                Rights  of  Persons  with  Disability  (RPD)  Act  2016  has  affected  to  the  United 
                 Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and RPD Rules 2017 
                 mandates each establishment to publish an equal opportunity policy for persons with 
                 disabilities. 
                  
                Mental  Health  Care  Act  2017  defines  „informed  consent‟  and  „mental  illness‟.  
                 Section 3.5 of the act states “The determination of a person‟s mental illness shall 
                 alone not imply or be taken to mean that the person is of unsound mind unless he has 
                 been declared as such by a competent court.” 
                  
                Compliance with the Web and Mobile Accessibility Standards to make banking 
                 digital products usable and accessible for persons with disabilities.  
                                     
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                          IBA - BANKERS’ GUIDE FOR CUSTOMERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 
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                                                       TABLE OF CONTENTS 
                  
                 Sr. No.                                                    Topics                                                     Page No. 
                        RBI -                                                                                                                  6 
                  1.    BANKING FACILITY FOR SENIOR CITIZENS AND DIFFERENTLY ABLED PERSONS - 9th                                               7 
                        November 2017 
                  2.    FAQs ON BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME, 2006 - (UPDATED AS ON July 14, 2017)                                                 10 
                  3.    BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME (AS AMENDED UPTO AND EFFECTIVE FROM July 1,                                                   15 
                        2017) 
                         
                  4.    WITHDRAWAL OF PENSION BY OLD/ SICK/ DISABLED/ INCAPACITATED PENSIONERS - 1st                                           16 
                        July 2017 
                         
                  5.    LOAN FACILITY TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS BY HFCS - 3rd December 2015                                                 18 
                  6.    ANNEXURE - ILLUSTRATIVE GUIDELINES FOR LOAN FACILITIES TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED                                            19 
                        PERSONS 
                         
                  7.    RBI MASTER CIRCULAR ON CUSTOMER SERVICE - 1st July 2015                                                                21 
                  8.    KEY POINTS RELATED TO PWD CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM THE RBI MASTER CIRCULAR                                                22 
                        2015 
                         
                  9.    PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING - PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (PWD) - INCLUSION UNDER                                            27 
                        WEAKER SECTIONS -13th March 2015 
                         
                 10.    NEED FOR BANK BRANCHES ATMs TO BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH                                                      28 
                                             th
                        DISABILITIES - 11  June 2014 
                         
                 11.    NEED FOR BANK BRANCHES ATMS TO BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH                                                      30 
                                             st
                        DISABILITIES - 21  May 2014 
                         
                 12.    LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP CERTIFICATES - 13th January 2014                                                                    32 
                 13.    BANKING FACILITIES TO VISUALLY CHALLENGED / PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES - 5th                                            34 
                        September 2012 
                         
                 14.    NEED FOR BANK BRANCHES ATMS TO BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH                                                      35 
                                             th
                        DISABILITIES - 13  April 2009 
                         
                 15.    BANKING FACILITIES TO THE VISUALLY CHALLENGED - 4th June 2008                                                          36 
                        IBA -                                                                                                                 37 
                 16.    IBA MODEL CUSTOMER RIGHTS POLICY-5th February 2015                                                                     38 
                 17.    IBA MODEL POLICY FOR GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL IN BANKS- 5th February 2015                                                   47 
                 18.    IBA POSTER TO BE DISPLAYED AT THE ENTRANCE OF TALKING ATM - 16th January 2014                                          50 
                 19.    IBA STANDARDS ON ACCESSIBLE ATM - 27th February 2013                                                                   53 
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                    NOVEMBER-2017                                                                                                                -3-