IBA plans common call centre for PSBs

The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) is working on a proposal to establish a common customer care centre to serve all its 12 public sector bank (PSB) members, aiming to save on costs and offer a consistent customer experience, two people aware of the development said.

- Shayan Ghosh

The idea is to provide a single helpline number that customers across banks can dial for queries and complaints. According to the proposed plan, an interactive voice response (IVR) system would greet customers and address initial queries, with calls transferred to respective bank call centres to address complex issues that require human intervention, the people said on condition of anonymity.

“This will save time and effort for a lot of banks that will now have a centralized screening to answer minor customer queries and then divert those to the call centre, if necessary," one of the two people said.