New Delhi, December 2: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reinforced the use of regional languages in banking services, issuing detailed guidelines to ensure customer engagement aligns with local linguistic needs. The information was shared in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.
According to the guidelines, banks must adopt a trilingual service format—Hindi, English and the relevant regional language—for all customer-facing materials. These include account opening forms, passbooks, pay-in slips, product brochures, complaint redressal information and display boards at bank counters. Banks have also been directed to maintain multilingual digital channels and contact centres to support customers in their preferred language.
RBI has further instructed banks to frame a Board-approved policy on branch-level customer services, covering signage, service-booklets, and availability of printed material in local languages to improve accessibility for retail customers.
The Department of Financial Services has separately asked all Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to strictly comply with these multilingual service norms. RBI has reiterated to Scheduled Commercial Banks that all customer communications must be issued in trilingual format without exception.
To strengthen local communication capacity, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has advised PSBs to adopt policies for recruiting Local Bank Officers (LBOs), especially in rural and semi-urban areas. This initiative is now being actively implemented by state-owned banks.
Frontline customer services in PSBs, handled by Customer Service Associates (CSAs), will also see improved language compatibility. CSAs are now required to clear a Local Language Proficiency Test (LPT) for the State or Union Territory where they will be posted—ensuring smooth, context-sensitive interaction with customers.
The multilingual mandate, officials said, is expected to significantly enhance service delivery, transparency and customer comfort across India’s diverse linguistic landscape.
