MUMBAI: You may find it difficult to access your bank locker until its rental agreement is updated as RBI has not extended the December 31 deadline for signing the new document. Banks said that while the majority have completed the formality, 10-20% of customers still need to do so.
Indian Bank and Punjab National Bank said that they have introduced digital locker agreements, which can be completed through e-stamp and e-sign. However, there have been issues with the availability of the online facility.
A Union Bank spokesperson said that 80% of the customers had executed the new locker agreement. The bank has not yet introduced any digital execution of the agreement. Canara Bank said that over 90% of its customers have signed the updated locker agreement, while the corresponding number for Bank of Baroda stood at 81%.
Bankers said that many of the agreements that have not been updated are those that are not frequently used and some which are in the names of senior citizens. Banks are offering to visit the senior citizens for executing agreements.
The central bank had asked banks to update every locker agreement in 2021 following a court dispute over the bank's liability for the contents. The objective of having a new agreement was to clearly spell out the bank's limited liability so that there are no disputes in future. The revised agreement mandated that banks prevent fire, theft, and building collapse while limiting their liability to 100 times the annual locker rent. The limited liability has also caused concern among depositors as the value of jewellery, in many cases, is more than 100 times the annual rent. The original deadline for the new agreement was January 2023. However, scarcity of stamp paper caused a major inconvenience for bank customers.
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