Lack of empathy in customer service driving complaints: RBI DG Swaminathan

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J has attributed the rising number of banking complaints, especially in the digital domain, to lack of empathy and a mechanical approach to customer service by the staff while suggesting that bankers should blend professionalism with compassion.

 

“We see increasing automation, but decreasing ownership,” Swaminathan said, adding that systems respond with templated emails and helplines loop back endlessly. “This is not how trust is built, and certainly not how it can be sustained,” he added.

 

While delivering a keynote address at the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) in Pune on July 12, Swaminathan said that the customer is not just “king”, but the cornerstone of trust in banking. The speech was uploaded on the RBI website on Tuesday. 

 

Flagging the surge in grievances, Swaminathan said that it was not merely due to flawed products or services but stemmed largely from an impersonal and mechanical approach to customer service.

 

“A senior citizen struggling with an ATM PIN, a borrower in a rural area unsure how to repay digitally, a small business owner worried about a UPI refund, these are not just service requests. They are moments of trust,” he added. 

 

Swaminathan underscored that success in banking demands both the capacity to respond quickly to challenges and the resilience to sustain long-term responsibilities.

 

“It’s not enough to be fast, you must be agile and able to endure,” he said.

 

“Agility helps you dodge what’s in front of you. Endurance helps you stay the course. You will need both,” he added.

 

He highlighted that banking is not just about managing money, but about managing trust.

 

“Your decisions will impact individuals, families, businesses, and communities. You will play a role in financial inclusion, digital adoption, credit growth, and economic stability. That is no small responsibility,” he said.

 

He also highlighted that the future of Indian banking will be shaped not just by policies and systems, but by adaptability, foresight, resilience, and empathy.

 

“What will truly shape you as a banker is your ability to blend knowledge with judgment, law with convention, and theory with practice,” he said.

 

Citing the Titanic as a cautionary example, he said that the failure was not in missing the iceberg, but in spotting it too late.

 

He suggested cultivating situational awareness amid threats like cyberattacks, phishing, and deep fakes. “In banking, as in life, it is not always the biggest or most advanced systems that succeeds, but the ones that stay alert and course-correct early,” he said.