The Reserve Bank of India has urged banks to follow a uniform, fair and transparent pricing policy and not discriminate between customers at home branch and non-home branches.

In its 2013-14 monetary policy statement, the banking regulator has observed that some banks were discriminating their own customers by levying a charge on products and services, if the transaction is not done at the ‘home branch’.

The home branch incidentally, is the branch where the account holder initially opens his/her account and the process of Know Your Customer (KYC) is completed.

With the introduction of the Core Banking Solution (CBS) and provision of online facilities, anywhere anytime banking convenience, the so-called ‘home branch’ seems to have lost its relevance.

The levy of such charges has therefore been viewed by the banking regulator as “discrimination against the bank’s own customer’’.

“This practice is contrary to the Reserve Bank’s guidelines on reasonableness of bank charges, particularly with the introduction of CBS (Core Banking Solution),’’ the apex bank said, and advised banks to follow a uniform, fair and transparent policy.

Detailed guidelines in this regard are expected to be issued by end-June.

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