The Reserve Bank of India on Monday extended the deadline till December 31 for banks to renew locker agreements with their customers.
The extension comes after the central bank observed that banks are yet to inform a large number of customers of the need for revised agreements.
“Banks were required to renew their locker agreements with existing locker customers by January 1. However, it has come to the notice of the RBI
The earlier deadline was January 1, 2023. The RBI has asked banks to resume locker operations where they were frozen owing to the earlier deadline.
The RBI in 2021 had issued detailed guidelines to banks offering locker services to its customers. The guidelines included drafting a model locker agreement, setting rent for the lockers, security of the strongroom and standards.
According to the fresh guidelines, the RBI has directed banks to notify their customers of the revised requirements by April 30 and ensure that at least 50% users execute the revised agreement by June 30.
Banks have to ensure that 75% of their customers comply with the requirements by September 30.
The central bank has also directed the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to review the model agreement to comply with the 2021 circular as there may be instances, where the revised agreements are at variance with this revised IBA model agreement.