The Reserve Bank of India’s directive to formalise communication between financial institutions and customers through dedicated phone number series may complicate debt recovery efforts, according to industry experts.
In a notification issued on 17 January, the RBI stated that transactional calls by banks, mutual funds, and other financial service providers must be made only through the ‘160’ series of contact numbers.
It also mandated that promotional and marketing calls should be conducted via the ‘140’ series. The central bank referred to existing regulations set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and instructed financial institutions to comply accordingly.
A large proportion of transactional calls made by lenders involve reminders for repayment deadlines and follow-ups on missed payments.
While the new regulation aims to streamline such communications, experts believe it could make it harder to reach wilful defaulters.
The chief executive of a digital lending platform pointed out that while genuine borrowers who repay after reminders may not face issues, defaulters could block calls from the designated number series.
He added that industry players are seeking further clarification from the regulator on this matter.
The Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) has written to the RBI, requesting that repayment and recovery calls be excluded from this mandate.
The association argued that recovery-related calls function similarly to physical notices and should not be classified as transactional. It also expressed concern that wilful defaulters might exploit the regulation by blocking calls from the ‘160’ series.
While expressing general support for the RBI’s decision, a DLAI spokesperson noted that the specific numbering system for financial services could help consumers filter out spam and fraudulent calls.
However, he emphasised that debt recovery should be handled separately to prevent unintended consequences.
Despite these concerns, some industry stakeholders believe the RBI’s move will help streamline the collections industry.
Gaurav Kumar, chief executive of Yubi, which operates the debt collection platform Spocto, stated that the directive could encourage banks to collaborate more with organised corporate entities for debt collection. He added that formalising call channels would bring greater scrutiny and accountability to the process.
A senior fintech executive highlighted that lenders currently use multiple communication channels, including WhatsApp messages, SMS, and phone calls, to reach defaulting borrowers.
The RBI’s directive is expected to remove WhatsApp calls from recovery processes, which he argued could enhance data security.
He explained that calls made from personal mobile numbers via WhatsApp cannot be monitored, creating risks of personal information leakage, especially as data protection laws in India become more stringent.
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