RBI directs banks to charge for SMS alerts on actual usage basis

As per a notification by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks have been directed charge customers for transaction SMS alerts on the basis of usage, instead of imposing a fixed fee.
The central bank has advised all the banks to leverage the technology available with them and the telecom service providers to ensure that such charges are levied on all customers on actual usage basis which will bring reasonableness and equity to this service.
Backround:
In March 2011, the RBI had issued guidelines for banks to send online alerts to customers for all types of transactions, irrespective of the amount. However, it had not set norms on charging customers for these alerts. Subsequently, banks had to set up a system of SMS alerts so as to help customers in fraud mitigation and have been imposing uniform service charges to various categories of customers.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2013