The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 02, 2025, issued instructions to banks to provide customer services in regional languages.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued comprehensive guidelines directing banks to use regional languages to better serve customers. Banks must adopt a board-approved branch management policy, display signboards, provide service booklets, and ensure that all customer-facing materials—such as forms, payslips, and passbooks—are available in Hindi, English, and the relevant regional language. Additionally, multilingual contact centres and digital platforms are encouraged to support customers in regional languages.
The Department of Financial Services has instructed public sector banks (PSBs) to fully comply with these RBI directives, while RBI has reiterated to scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) that all customer communication must be in a trilingual format. The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has also advised PSBs to recruit Local Bank Officers (LBOs) to improve communication, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.
To further strengthen regional language support, PSBs now require Customer Service Associates (CSAs) to clear a Local Language Proficiency Test (LPT) for the state or union territory of posting, ensuring effective and seamless customer service delivery.
[Release ID: 2197816]
