Mumbai: Most of the private sector lenders have decided to go for the "opt-in" option on loan repayment moratorium, putting the onus on the customer to take the initiative of informing the bank of their choice to go for the three-month breather offered by the Reserve Bank of India.
Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank said it would encourage customers with adequate funds to continue repayments to avoid the extra interest charges and tenor extension of the loan.
The Reserve Bank last Friday announced a three-month moratorium on loan repayments in the wake of COVID-19 crisis for dues to be paid between March-May 2020 and left it to the bank to implement the same.
A slew of state-run banks, which control over two-thirds of the system, have gone for an "opt-out" option where the repayments automatically get deferred unless a customer informs of her willingness to pay.
Experts have already made it clear that this is not an interest waiver, but a deferment of payments, meaning the additional interest costs will have to borne by the customers.
"If you do not want the EMI (earnest monthly installments) moratorium, no further action is required from your side. We will continue to bank your repayment instructions, HDFC Bank said on its website.