Introduction

Deposit Policy

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published guidelines for Payments Banks in India. As with any other bank, customer deposits, both savings & current will form the cornerstone of bank's operations and putting systems and processes in place to allow customers to access these deposits in a convenient and safe manner is one of the primary responsibilities of the bank. Payments Banks will be differentiated in the sense that the end of balance in accounts held with them cannot exceed Rs. 2,00,000. In line with factors stated above, it is imperative that this bank has a robust and comprehensive Deposit policy in place which has been approved by its board, which will allow the bank to provide deposit facilities to its customers which are in line with the rules and regulations laid down by RBI and its internal policies.

Purpose and Coverage of the Policy:

The primary objectives of the Deposit Policy are:

• State and Define the types of deposit products that the Bank can offer to its customers and the regulatory limits applicable to deposit products as defined by RBI

• Process to be followed by the bank for on-boarding of customers

• State the responsibilities of the Bank and its representative before offering deposit product to a customer along with the obligations of customers of Deposit Product

• Mention brief features of various Deposit Products that will be offered by the Bank including interest, number of withdrawals allowed, etc.

• Handling deceased cases and account closure thereof by discharging the amount to the legal heir

• Insurance of Deposits

• Handling of Dormant accounts

• Remittance Services to be offered to the customer

One of the important functions of the Payment Bank is to accept deposits from the public for the purpose of financial inclusion and to enable the account holders to participate in the banking services for which the Payment Bank licence has been issued to Airtel Payments Bank Ltd.. The depositors and their interests form the key area of the regulatory framework for banking in India and this has been enshrined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

This policy document on deposits outlines the guiding principles in respect of formulation of various deposit products offered by the Bank and terms and conditions governing the conduct of the account. The document recognises the rights of depositors and aims at dissemination of information with regard to various aspects of acceptance of deposits from the members of the public, conduct and operations of various deposits accounts, etc., for the benefit of customers.

This document is a broad framework under which the rights of common depositors are recognized. While adopting this policy the Bank re-iterates its commitments to the individual customers.

Types of Deposit Accounts

While various deposit products offered by the Bank are assigned different names, the deposit products can be categorized broadly into the following types. Definition of major deposits schemes are as under:-

1) "Savings Deposits" means a form of Demand Deposit which is subject to restrictions as to the number of withdrawals as also the amounts of withdrawals permitted by the Bank during any specified period;

2) "Current Account" means a form of demand deposit wherefrom withdrawals are allowed any number of times depending upon the balance in the account or up to a particular agreed amount and will also include other deposit accounts which are neither Savings Deposit nor Term Deposit;

3) “BSBD Equivalent Account”

Reference to RBI Circular RBI/2012-13/164 DBOD.No. Leg. BC.35/09.07.005/2012-13 dated August 10, 2012 and  DBR.LEG.BC.No.47/09.07.005/2018-19 dated June 10 2019 under subject Financial Inclusion- Access to Banking Services – Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA), while Bank had received board approval to launch the Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) Account which will take time to operationalize. In the meantime Bank will continue to offer BSBDA Equivlaent benefits to the eligible customers as below: 

1. Eligible customers: Customers who have opted out of charges and DBT recipients in last 6 months

2. There is nil balance requirement and no penalty for non-maintenance of balance

3. Annual account charges

4. Receipt and Credit of Money through any electronic channel is free (we do not have cheque book facility)

5. 4 withdrawals in a month are permitted

6. 2 lakh GPA insurance cover free of cost linked to one debit transaction each month.

As per the Licensing Guidelines on Payments Banks, Bank is not permitted to accept Term Deposits. Further payments bank are restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs. 200,000 per individual customer. However, payments bank can accept a large pool of money to be remitted to a number of accounts provided at the end of the day the balance does not exceed Rs. 200, 000. Each customer will be assigned a unique customer ID termed as UCIC. A customer will not be allowed to create more than 1 UCIC in the bank for active individual accounts. UCIC is applicable for Savings Account, Individual Current Account, Pre-Paid Instrument and Aadhaar OTP based accounts. Bank will offer single type product per customer between Current Account, Savings Bank Account and Wallets (This condition does not apply for partnership wallets opened with Hike).

The Bank before opening any deposit account will carry out due diligence as required under prevailing "Know Your Customer" (KYC) guidelines issued by RBI and the Bank's internal policy on the same. The decision of the Bank shall be final, in the event the account opening application is not found suitable as per the relevant guidelines pertaining to KYC.

The account opening forms and relevant material would be provided to the prospective depositor by the Bank touch-point. The same will contain details of information to be furnished and documents to be produced for verification and or for record. The Bank's representative opening the account will explain the procedure/formalities and provide necessary clarifications sought by the prospective depositor when he/she approaches for opening a deposit account.

For deposit products like Savings Bank Account and Current Deposit Account, the Bank may stipulate certain minimum/ average balances to be maintained as part of terms and conditions governing operation of such accounts.

Failure to maintain stipulated minimum / average balance in the account may attract levy of charges as specified by the Bank from time to time with approval from MD & CEO.

For Saving Bank Account the Bank may also place restrictions on number of transactions, cash withdrawals, etc., for a given period. Similarly, the Bank may specify charges for various services offered to the customers. Such information shall be upfront disseminated to the customer.

The terms and conditions for operation of the accounts and schedule of charges for various services provided are made available on the website of the bank.

Savings Bank Accounts can be opened for eligible person / persons and certain organizations / agencies (as advised by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from time to time).

The amounts can be deposited / withdrawn from these accounts electronically by the customer and/or through the bank touch-point.

The customers will be on boarded as per the bank's KYC policy in line with master direction on KYC issued by RBI.

The Bank is committed to providing basic banking services to unbanked / disadvantaged sections of the society. Banking services would be offered to them through the financial inclusion initiatives.

Deposit accounts can be opened by an individual in his/her own name (status known as account in single name).

Statements of the account can be generated by the customer through mobile app and internet banking. This is also made available at bank's touch points and a nominal charge may be levied for the service.

Nomination facility is available on all deposit accounts opened by the individuals. Nomination can be modified by the consent of account holder/s..

The Bank recommends that all depositors avail nomination facility. The nominee, in the event of death of the depositor/s, would receive the balance outstanding in the account as a trustee of legal heirs. The depositor will be informed of the advantages of the nomination facility while opening a deposit account.

Any changes in charges will be made available to all depositors well in advance through the Bank's web- site /registered e-mail ISMS on the registered mobile number of the account holder.

Interest Payments

The bank disseminate interest rates on deposits to the customer through various channels (Website/email/SMS). lnterest shall be paid on saving account at the rate specified by the bank on daily product basis.

• (i) Interest shall be paid on saving account at the rate as decided by Bank within the general guidelines issued by the RBI from time to time.
• (ii) The interest in savings bank account shall be calculated on Daily Product Basis.
• (iii) Interest on savings bank account shall be paid on Monthly basis.
• (iv) The rate of interest on deposits will be prominently displayed in the branch premises / banking points or shall be disseminate through various channels (Website / SMS/ Informational Posters)

Settlement of Dues in Deceased Deposit Account

If the depositor has registered nomination with the Bank; - the balance outstanding in the account of the deceased depositor will be settled to the nominee after the Bank satisfies about the identity of the nominee.

In the absence of the nomination the bank follow the legally accepted procedure for settlement of claims.

Insurance Cover for Deposits

Our bank deposits are covered under the scheme of Deposit Insurance scheme offered by Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (DICGC).

Each depositor in a bank is insured up to a maximum of Rs.200,000 (Rupees Two Lakh) for both principal and interest amount held by him in the same right and same capacity.

Inoperative and Dormant Accounts

1.5. a. Non-operative Accounts for more than one year

Bank shall make annual review of accounts in which there are no operations (i.e., no credit or debit other than crediting of periodic interest or debiting of service charges) for more than one year. The depositor of such non-operative accounts will be notified. The bank shall approach the customers and inform them that there has been no operation in their accounts and advising to operate the account to keep the account active.

1.5. b. Dormant Accounts

A savings account and current account with no customer induced transactions for a period over two years will be treated as a inoperative/dormant account. Bank maintains an internal framework in line with the Revised inoperative guidelines issued by RBI on January 01, 2024. The bank may consider reactivating of such accounts on the request of the depositor after doing a Re-KYC of the customer.

i. A savings as well as current account should be treated as inoperative / dormant if there are no customer induced transactions in the account for over a period of two years. The Customer induced transaction are those transaction which are in nature of:-

 a.         A financial transaction initiated by or done at the behest of the account holder by the bank/ third party (a list is Maintained in Bank’s Internal process) or;

  b.         A non-financial transaction an enquiry or request for any product/ service initiated by the account holder through any ATM or internet banking or mobile banking application of the bank or through Third Party Application Providers, which requires two-factor authentication (2FA) and leaves a trail for audit purposes or successful log-in to the internet banking/ mobile banking application. Illustratively, this includes transactions such as change in transaction limit, request for issue of cheque book/ credit card/ debit card, nomination facility, balance enquiry, etc.

c.         KYC updation done in face-to-face physical mode or through digital channels such as internet banking or mobile banking application of the bank.

ii. The Bank induced transactions such as charges, fees, interest payments, penalties, taxes (an illustrative list is maintained in Bank’s Internal process) should not be considered for the purpose of classifying an account as operative.

iii. Bank would be reviewing accounts where there is no customer induced transactions for more than a year.

iv. Bank would be approaching the customers and inform them that there has been no operation in their accounts in the last one year.

v. In case any reply is given by the account holder giving the reasons for not operating the account (within stipulated two years), banks should continue classifying the same as an operative account for one more year within which period the account holder may be requested to operate the account. However, in case the account holder still does not operate the same during the extended period, the bank should classify the same as inoperative account after the expiry of the extended period.

vi. Interest on savings bank accounts should be credited on regular basis whether the account is operative or not.

vii. There shall not be any charge for activation of inoperative account.

viii. The amounts lying in inoperative accounts ledger shall be audited by the concurrent / statutory auditors (as applicable) of the bank.

ix. Banks shall display the list of unclaimed deposits/inoperative accounts which are inactive / inoperative for ten years or more on its website. The list so displayed on the websites must contain only the names of the account holder(s) and his/her address (without pincode) in respect of unclaimed deposits/inoperative accounts. However, the account number, its type and the name of the branch shall not be disclosed on the bank’s website. The list so published by the banks should also provide a “Find” option to enable the public to search the list of accounts by name of the account holder.

x. Banks shall also give on the same website, the information on the process of claiming the unclaimed deposit/activating the inoperative account and the necessary forms and documents for claiming the same.

xi. Only credit under the DBT scheme of government of India would be allowed in case of inoperative account.

The banks shall activate the inoperative accounts/ unclaimed deposits, including those which are under freeze by orders of various agencies like Courts, Tribunals, Law Enforcement Agencies, only after adhering to the KYC guidelines provided in the Master Direction - Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016 dated February 25, 2016 (as updated from time to time) such as Customer Due Diligence (CDD), customer identification, risk categorisation, etc.

Remittance Service

Airtel Payments Bank would offer Fund Transfer Services to its customers which will allow them to transfer funds from their accounts to other customer's Airtel Payments Bank Account and to customers holding accounts with other banks within India. In addition, Airtel Payments Bank would look into the service needs of the migrant population by providing them Money Transfer services under Domestic Money Transfer guidelines (as updated time to time) issued by Reserve Bank of India.

Airtel Payments Bank would primarily rely on electronic methods of funds transfer. This would happen through NEFT,IMPS & RTGS. As newer and improved services become available, the customers would be notified of the same.

Redressal of Complaints and Grievances

Depositors having any complaint / grievance with regard to services rendered by the Bank has a right to approach authority (ies) designated by the Bank for handling customer complaint/ grievances. The details of customer grievance Redressal mechanism put in place by the bank are made available on the website of the bank.

The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund

The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014 (DEAF) RBI has established “The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund‟ (the Fund). Under the provisions of Fund the amount to the credit of any account/ with the Bank which has not been operated upon for a period of ten years or any deposit or any amount remaining unclaimed for more than ten years shall be credited to the Fund, within a period of one month from the expiry of the said period of ten years. The depositor would, however, be entitled to claim from the Bank his/her deposit or any other unclaimed amount. The Bank would be liable to pay the amount to the depositor/claimant and claim refund of such amount from the Fund.

Inoperative/Dormant Account Closure

Airtel Payments Bank will close dormant/inoperative and inactive accounts with zero balance periodically basis the internal approved policy. All eligible customers will be given 30 days prior intimation through SMS and notice will be published on Bank’s website before closure of the account post dormancy. The closure policy can be amended/modify with approval of two EC members of the bank.