IBA plans common call centre for PSBs

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : 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. 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. The centralized customer support centre will likely be implemented by PSB Alliance Pvt. Ltd, a company owned by banks.

PSB Alliance, according to information on its website, can act as an intermediary for all state-owned banks to create common applications and take advantage of the combined scale of operations. It already runs the doorstep banking programme launched by the government in September 2020. “Not only will it help banks manage their customer service better, but it will also benefit customers who now can dial the same number for all their bank accounts, and the system will guide them thereafter," said the second person.

The person said the discussions are ongoing, and IBA is looking at the proposal and will prepare the implementation plan. An email sent to a spokesperson for IBA remained unanswered. A common customer support centre will also