This Code applies to every loan made by Basel Investments Limited and to every channel through which a loan is offered, including Digital Lending Applications operated by Lending Service Providers appointed by the company. It binds Basel and, through contract, everyone acting on Basel’s behalf.
Purpose and scope
The purpose of this Code is to set a minimum standard of dealing with borrowers, to make that standard public so it can be relied upon, and to give a borrower a clear route when the standard is not met. It is adopted by the board of directors and reviewed periodically.
Nothing in this Code reduces any right a borrower has under law or under the loan agreement. Where this Code and a loan agreement differ, whichever is more favourable to the borrower applies.
Applications and their processing
- All communication with a borrower is in a language the borrower understands, or in English. Where a Digital Lending Application offers a choice of language, the choice is offered before any personal information is requested.
- Before any personal information is collected, the borrower is told who the lender is, Basel Investments Limited, and, where a Lending Service Provider is involved, who that party is and what it does.
- The loan application sets out the information required to assess it and the documents to be submitted with it. Information not needed to assess or service the loan is not asked for.
- Receipt of an application is acknowledged, and the borrower is told the period within which it will be decided. Where verification cannot be completed automatically, the application goes to manual review with a stated timeframe rather than being left open.
- Where an application is declined, the borrower is told in writing the main reason or reasons for the decision. An application does not create an entitlement to credit, and no offer is made unless our credit assessment supports one.
Appraisal and terms of sanction
Every loan is appraised against the board-approved credit policy. The sanction is conveyed in writing, in the language understood by the borrower, and states the amount sanctioned, the annualised rate of interest, the method of application of that rate, all applicable fees and charges, the tenure, the repayment schedule and the consequences of default, including the penal charge.
Penal charges are levied on default or breach only, are reasonable and proportionate, are not capitalised, so no further interest is computed on them, and are disclosed as a rupee amount in the Key Facts Statement and in every communication about an overdue account.
The borrower’s acceptance of the terms is recorded, and a copy of the loan agreement together with every enclosure quoted in it is furnished to the borrower.
Disbursement and changes in terms
- Disbursement is made in accordance with the sanctioned terms, directly from Basel’s own accounts to the borrower’s verified bank account. No disbursal passes through an account controlled by a Lending Service Provider or any other third party.
- The processing fee and the tax on it are deducted before disbursal. Because of this, the amount the borrower receives is less than the amount sanctioned. Both figures are stated separately in the Key Facts Statement.
- Any change in the disbursement schedule, the rate of interest, a charge or any other term is notified to the borrower in advance and takes effect prospectively only.
- Recall or acceleration of payment, or enforcement of security, is exercised only in accordance with the loan agreement.
- On repayment of all dues, all securities are released and a no-objection certificate is issued, subject to any legitimate right or lien of the company of which the borrower has been given notice.
Key Facts Statement and disclosure of cost
A Key Facts Statement is provided to every borrower before the loan contract is executed, not at disbursal and not afterwards. It states:
- the name of the lender, the Lending Service Provider and the Digital Lending Application;
- the amount sanctioned and the net amount that will actually be disbursed after deductions;
- the rate of interest and the method by which it is applied;
- the Annual Percentage Rate, being the all-inclusive annual cost of the credit, carrying interest, the processing fee and the tax on it, expressed against the amount actually received;
- the total amount repayable and the repayment schedule;
- every fee and charge, including the penal charge on overdue amounts;
- the cooling-off period and what exercising it costs;
- the name of any party authorised to approach the borrower for recovery; and
- the grievance redressal route, with the officer at each level.
No charge not disclosed in the Key Facts Statement is levied at any stage. The full loan kit, the Key Facts Statement, the sanction letter, the terms and conditions and the privacy notices, is sent to the borrower’s registered and verified email address or mobile number once the contract is executed.
Cooling-off period and early settlement
A cooling-off period runs from disbursal on every unsecured personal loan: three days where the tenure is 30 days or less, and seven days where it runs longer. Within that window a borrower may exit the loan by repaying the amount sanctioned, with no interest for the days the money was held and no penalty of any kind. The processing fee and the tax on it were deducted before the money reached the borrower and are not refunded; they are the whole cost of taking a loan and returning it.
Exercising this right is not a default and is not reported to any credit information company as one.
Paragraph 10 of the Reserve Bank of India (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025 requires this period to be fixed by the Board in the lender’s loan policy and to be no shorter than one day. It sets no longer window for longer loans. Both windows above are the Board’s own and exceed that floor. The Directions also permit a lender to recover the proportionate annual percentage rate on exit and to retain the processing fee; Basel does not charge the proportionate APR, and a borrower who exits repays the amount sanctioned and nothing further.
On Basel’s unsecured personal loans, after the window, there is no foreclosure or prepayment charge at any time. A borrower settling early pays the principal plus interest for the days actually held; interest that has not been incurred is not charged. On an instalment product the rebate follows the reducing balance in the amortisation schedule the offer was priced with. Settling early can never cost more than running the loan to term.
Servicing, supervision and closure
- A borrower can retrieve the repayment schedule, the account ledger and the loan agreement at any time, including after the loan is closed.
- Part payment is accepted and reduces the outstanding amount.
- Automatic debit is offered but is never mandatory. A manual repayment path is available on every unsecured personal loan, and declining automatic debit does not affect the loan.
- Every payment is processed idempotently, so a repeated instruction does not result in a second debit.
- On closure the borrower receives a statement identifying how the loan was closed and what was actually paid.
- Basel does not interfere in the affairs of a borrower except for matters provided for in the loan agreement, unless information not previously disclosed by the borrower comes to its notice.
Recovery
How repayment may be pursued is disclosed to the borrower before the loan agreement is signed, rather than discovered when the first attempt is made. Repayment may be pursued by:
- reminders within the application, by SMS and by email;
- telephone contact by our own staff or by an appointed agent;
- a field visit by an agent named to the borrower in writing beforehand; and
- a legal notice, and recovery through arbitration or the courts.
Basel and everyone acting for it will not resort to harassment. That means no persistent contact at unreasonable hours, no contact outside the hours set out in the loan documentation, no use of abusive or threatening language, no public shaming, no contact with a borrower’s contact list, employer or acquaintances for the purpose of pressure, and no misrepresentation of the amount due or of the consequences of non-payment. Staff and agents are trained to deal with customers appropriately.
Contact hours for recovery: 8:00 am to 7:00 pm. This is the limit set by the Reserve Bank, and Basel does not contact a borrower about recovery outside those hours.
Conduct of our partners and agents
Where Basel engages a Lending Service Provider or a recovery agent, that engagement is governed by contract and the party is subjected to diligence before appointment and monitored afterwards. Outsourcing a function does not outsource responsibility: Basel remains answerable to the borrower for anything done in its name, and for resolving any complaint that arises out of the arrangement.
Every Lending Service Provider and Digital Lending Application Basel engages is published, with the functions each performs, on our Digital Lending Disclosures page. An application or an agent not named there is not acting for Basel.
Confidentiality of borrower information
Information relating to a borrower is treated as confidential and is not disclosed to any third party except with the borrower’s express consent, where disclosure is required by law or by a regulator, where it is made to a credit information company as required, or where it is necessary to service the loan and the recipient is bound to the same standard. Data is stored in India. Our Privacy Policy sets out the detail.
Language and communication
Loan documentation and communication are provided in a language understood by the borrower. Basel does not paraphrase a disclosure from one surface to another: the cooling-off wording, the cost figures and the grievance route are expressed identically wherever they appear, so a borrower comparing two screens is never left to wonder which is authoritative.
Grievance redressal
A borrower who is dissatisfied with anything covered by this Code may complain through the route set out on our Grievance Redressal page. It is reachable from every state of the Digital Lending Application without exception. Every complaint is acknowledged within 7 days and resolved within 30 days of first being received, at any of three named internal levels; escalating does not restart the 30 days. If Basel has not replied within 30 days, or the borrower is not satisfied with the reply, the borrower may complain to the RBI Ombudsman under the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, within 90 days of those 30 days ending or of Basel’s last reply, whichever is later. A borrower whose complaint is not redressed within one month may also appeal to the Officer-in-Charge of the Reserve Bank’s Chandigarh Regional Office.
Review of this Code
This Code is approved by the board of directors and reviewed at least annually, and whenever a change in regulation requires it. The date of approval and of the most recent review is shown in the document status panel on this page.