RBI Directs Banks to Provide Customer Services in Regional Languages

• 03 Dec 2025
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The guidelines that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued on customer services in banks provide detailed directions on usages of regional languages. These guidelines allow the banks to align their service delivery according to the regional requirements. 

The central bank has also advised the banks to put in place a board approved policy for the branches’ general management including, inter alia, display indicator boards on all the counters, provide customers with booklets outlining all the details of service as well as facilities available at the bank, make all the printed materials available, such as opening forms, passbooks and pay-in slips for retail customers, and provision of customer redressal in Hindi, English and concerned regional languages.

Additionally, banks have set up multilingual contact centers and digital platforms to provide banking services and assistance in regional languages. The Department of Financial Services has advised Public Sector Banks to adhere to the RBI's instructions regarding the use of relevant regional languages in customer service. 

Moreover, the RBI has reminded Scheduled Commercial Banks that all communications to customers should be issued in a trilingual format that incorporates Hindi, English and the applicable regional language. 

To all the Public Sector Banks, the Indian Banks’ Association has advised that they must have a policy pertaining to recruitment of Local Bank officers in order to ensure effective communications with local customers in their local languages, especially in rural and semi urban areas. The same is already being actively pursued by these banks.

Furthermore, the customer service associates primarily deal with the customer service functions at the front end in the PSBs. During the recruitment process, these associates now need to pass a local language proficiency test for the official language of the state/UT where the staff will be posted. This would ensure seamless communication in regional languages and result in effective customer services.

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, provided this information in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha on 2 December 2025.

Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB)