Bharat Social Finance Corporation (BSFC) is committed to conducting its financial services, Self Help Group (SHG) initiatives, rural development programs, customer interactions, and operational activities in a fair, transparent, ethical, responsible, and customer-focused manner. This Fair Practices Code (FPC) establishes the principles and standards that govern BSFC’s relationship with customers, SHG members, applicants, beneficiaries, community participants, operational representatives, and stakeholders.
The purpose of this Fair Practices Code is to promote responsible financial inclusion, strengthen customer confidence, encourage transparent communication, support ethical lending practices, ensure respectful treatment of customers, and establish fair operational conduct across all BSFC activities. This Code reflects responsible financial service principles generally associated with microfinance institutions, rural financial inclusion programs, and operational standards commonly expected within the Indian financial services sector.
BSFC shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that all financial products, livelihood support programs, SHG financing services, customer assistance activities, operational procedures, and community development initiatives are communicated in a clear, transparent, and understandable manner. Customers shall be provided with information relating to applicable terms, repayment obligations, service conditions, operational procedures, documentation requirements, processing stages, applicable charges, and customer responsibilities wherever reasonably practicable.
BSFC believes that financial services should be delivered with dignity, fairness, accountability, and social responsibility. Customers, applicants, SHG members, women entrepreneurs, rural participants, and beneficiaries shall be treated respectfully and without discrimination based on religion, caste, gender, language, ethnicity, social background, marital status, disability, community affiliation, economic condition, or geographical location, subject to lawful eligibility requirements and operational feasibility.
BSFC shall make reasonable efforts to assess financial assistance applications responsibly and ethically. Loan eligibility assessments, repayment evaluations, operational verification, livelihood assessments, SHG evaluations, and financial support decisions may consider factors such as repayment capacity, financial discipline, operational sustainability, community participation, documentation compliance, business feasibility, risk assessment, and applicable regulatory requirements. Financial assistance shall not be guaranteed solely on the basis of application submission or participation in BSFC programs.
BSFC is committed to promoting responsible lending practices and discouraging excessive financial burden, over-indebtedness, coercive recovery behavior, or unethical financial pressure on customers or SHG members. Customers shall be encouraged to borrow responsibly based on genuine financial requirements and repayment capabilities. BSFC may conduct verification activities, repayment assessments, and operational reviews before approving financial assistance.
BSFC shall communicate repayment obligations, due dates, applicable charges, operational terms, and financial responsibilities through available communication channels including customer agreements, operational documentation, digital systems, customer support interactions, field communication, or authorized representatives. Customers are encouraged to review all applicable terms carefully before accepting financial assistance or participating in BSFC-supported programs.
BSFC strictly prohibits harassment, intimidation, abusive conduct, coercion, public humiliation, threats, unauthorized recovery practices, unlawful pressure tactics, or unethical behavior by employees, field officers, operational representatives, collection personnel, SHG coordinators, or associated service providers. All recovery and repayment-related interactions shall be conducted respectfully, professionally, lawfully, and with due consideration to customer dignity and community relationships.
BSFC representatives and associated personnel shall identify themselves appropriately during customer interactions, field visits, operational communication, repayment follow-ups, verification activities, or SHG coordination activities. Customers shall have the right to request clarification regarding operational procedures, repayment information, documentation requirements, communication authenticity, or customer service interactions through official BSFC communication channels.
BSFC may collect, process, store, verify, and manage customer information, SHG records, financial data, operational details, and identity-related information for lawful business purposes including customer onboarding, financial assessment, operational administration, regulatory compliance, fraud prevention, repayment monitoring, customer support, digital operations, and service improvement activities. Such information handling practices shall be governed in accordance with applicable laws and the BSFC Privacy Policy.
Customers shall be encouraged to report grievances, service concerns, misconduct complaints, repayment disputes, operational dissatisfaction, unauthorized communication, fraudulent activity, or unethical behavior through official BSFC grievance redressal mechanisms. BSFC shall make reasonable efforts to review complaints fairly, confidentially, and within reasonable operational timelines in accordance with internal procedures and applicable service standards.
BSFC shall not knowingly engage in misleading communication, false promises, deceptive operational practices, unauthorized representations, hidden charges, or unfair customer treatment. Marketing materials, promotional communication, operational announcements, financial awareness campaigns, and customer interaction content shall aim to provide reasonably accurate and transparent information regarding BSFC services and programs.
Customers are advised not to share OTPs, passwords, confidential banking credentials, account verification codes, or sensitive financial information with unauthorized individuals. BSFC representatives shall never request confidential passwords or unauthorized payments through unofficial communication channels for loan approvals, grievance handling, or financial assistance processing.
BSFC may engage banking institutions, payment gateways, insurance providers, technology partners, operational vendors, verification agencies, collection support agencies, consultants, auditors, and authorized service providers to support lawful operational activities. While BSFC aims to work with responsible partners, operational dependency on third-party systems may occasionally affect service timelines, communication processes, transaction processing, or digital functionality.
As a Self Help Group-powered and community-focused institution, BSFC encourages ethical participation, responsible community engagement, women empowerment, livelihood enhancement, financial literacy, social accountability, and sustainable development practices among SHG members, operational representatives, customers, and beneficiaries.
BSFC reserves the right to revise, update, amend, suspend, or modify this Fair Practices Code periodically in response to regulatory developments, operational changes, technological updates, legal obligations, customer service improvements, or organizational requirements. Updated versions shall become effective upon publication through official BSFC communication channels unless otherwise required under applicable law.
This Fair Practices Code shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of India. Any disputes arising in relation to operational conduct, customer interactions, financial services, grievance handling, or related matters shall be subject to the jurisdiction of competent courts located within the jurisdiction of BSFC’s registered office, subject to applicable legal provisions.
For customer support, grievance reporting, operational clarification, or policy-related inquiries, users may contact:
Bharat Social Finance Corporation (BSFC)
Customer Support & Privacy Department
Email: grievencescare@bsfcindia.org
Support Email: support@bsfcindia.org
Customer Support: 1169268704
Head Office: New Delhi, India
By accessing or using BSFC services, financial assistance systems, websites, SHG programs, operational platforms, or customer support channels, users acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agreed to this Fair Practices Code.
