Srinivasan
On Sunday, the 29th May 2022, 100 persons in Chennai became Crorepatis and in sheer disbelief one or two got their blood pressure shot up and some others started to realise their pulse rate jumping. HDFC Bank credited 100 account holders varied amount to the extent of several crores. One customer account was credited with Rs.13 Crores. The Bank responded with a reply that the transaction error was caused by the technical glitch during the maintenance work on bank site. The Bank claimed it happened in few branches in Chennai. This hitch not only confined to Chennai. It happened in Hyderabad also; 2 Accounts found to be credited with 23.8 Crores out of which one Mobile Shop Owner Venkat Reddy with 18.5 Crores.
All the accounts were found and frozen. The customers began fuming when they were unable to make any transaction and were not able to receive their due credits in their accounts.
Account was not frozen to the extent of wrong credit. The whole account was frozen. They could not draw their own money in the account for their needs. Secondly the development has also flagged the issue of plight of the customers since the high value transactions exceeding certain threshold should be reported to Income Tax Authorities. The amount will get reflected in 26AS of IT returns as credit for which Income Tax will issue notice. One has to give unnecessary explanation for no fault of theirs.
This is not the first time that software glitch happens in HDFC Bank. In December 2018, the bank’s mobile application crashed within hours of its launch and that was attributed to the incapability of the servers to handle the heightened traffic. Exactly a year later its online channels were down during the salary time.
RBI barred HDFC Bank from launching Digital Banking and issuance of New Credit Cards in the Month of December 2020 and very recently it was restored.
On several occasions in the past it happened in HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector Bank. Member of Parliament belonging to CPI, K Subbarayan wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 31.05.2022. The letter contains: “The bank balances of some hundred customers have shot up to several lakhs and in some crores in some accounts suddenly. This has reportedly involved a total sum of Rs.1300 crores.. .…. The incident unfortunately is not so unwary. It is shrouded in dismal suspicions. There are missing links and unanswered questions. There appears to be something more than that meets the eye…… I urge upon you to immediately call for explanation from the HDFC bank. An immediate and thorough investigation should be ordered to reveal the truth and unearth any likely irregularity”
It is high time a high level enquiry should be ordered to find out the real facts.
Something happened in Private Sector Banks, it will brushed aside as a matter of routine, Had it happened in a public sector bank, it would have cried louder as matter of inefficiency. It would have sold to Private Sector by Voice Calls.
Any sudden credit or debit amounting to crores of rupees without the knowledge of the customers will put them in great difficulty. If the statement by the bank that this is due to software glitch, then it is all the more dangerous to have such a software! All banks in general and HDFC bank in particular should have in place some mechanism wherein which such technical glitches do not occur. A thorough probe is needed, even in the interest of the bank. Good that such issues are being raked up through this journal.
பாதுகாப்பு நடவடிக்கையயுடன் சமூகத்தின் அமைதி மட்டுமே ஊழியர்களின் பாதுகாப்பினை உறுதி செய்யும் !