Dear Senior Citizens, You are unwelcome at Banks..implies RBI

The RBI discussion paper on “Disincentivisation of issuance and use of cheques”  wants to impose penalties for using cheques in banking transactions as also for cash withdrawals and deposits. Instead it urges people to shift to Internet banking and ATMs.

As an ex-banker I am aware that many senior citizens take pride in visiting banks and doing their transactions in person. Some times they write a cheque and send it with somebody to draw money. Now as per the RBI’s intentions, senior citizens will not be welcome at the branches. If they withdraw or deposit cash, they may have to be prepared to pay charges. If they take a cheque book, issue a cheque or gve a cheque for collection, they need to pay charges for each such transaction.

If this means that the Senior Citizens need to change their banking habits, RBI has a convenient suggestion. Change over to Internet banking and use ATMs. If you want to pay your utility bills, use NEFT. Where you want to issue cheques, send it through Internet Banking.

Is this a practical suggestion for Senior Citizens?

I request associations of Senior Citizens to ponder over this suggestion of RBI and send their responses to RBI. Since the discussion paper is available only on the Internet and response can be sent only through e-mail, if you are not on the Internet bandwagon now, then you may not know that such a discussion paper actually exists. In fact those who are likely to be adversely affected by the RBI’s proposed changes may not even be reading this website and this message.

I therefore request all of you who are reading this message reach out to Non Netizens you know of and inform them of the impending danger to their financial life.

-Tell them that E-Banking in India is a risky affair where every year more than Rs 8000 crores are lost due to cyber frauds.
-Tell them that Banks in conspiracy with RBI are trying to introduce E Banking and simultaneously trying to shift cyber fraud liabilities to the customers because laws of banking in the cheque environment are too well established to be manipulated where as laws of E Banking is considered amenable for manipulation because there is still “lawlessness by administrative and judicial inaction” in the E Banking arena.
-Tell them to go their banks and demand a copy of the “Discussion Paper on Disincentivisation of issuance and usage of cheques” issued by RBI on 31st January 2013 and on which you can submit your views before 28th February 2013.
-Talk to your friends and take a collective action
-Take a class on Internet, Internet Banking, Cyber Crimes and Cyber Security to protect your hard earned savings in the Bank
-Tell them to address a letter to Governor, Reserve Bank of India, D.N.Road, Mumbai 400001 and inform

” We strongly oppose any move of RBI to disincentivise the issue and use of cheques and limit the number of cash transactions as proposed in the discussion paper issued on January 31, 2013. We want a commitment from RBI that there will be no tampering with the basic legal structure of banking in India to reduce the protection available to Bank customers in the form of frauds in the use of E Banking. We want immediate implementation of all recommendations made by the Damodaran Committee on Customer Service with immediate effect”

Naavi