No more visits to bank to update KYC: RBI

New Delhi: Bank account holders who have previously presented proper documentation and haven't changed their residence are no longer obliged to visit their bank offices to update their "know your customer" (KYC) information, according to the RBI.

If there hasn't been a change in the KYC information, customers can instead submit a self-declaration by email, a registered mobile number, ATMs, or any other digital methods.

In response to Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das's remarks that banks shouldn't demand branch visits for KYC updates, the central bank on Thursday released guidelines for the same.

According to the current rules, a self-declaration to that effect by the individual client is sufficient to finish the re-KYC procedure if there has been no change in KYC information.
Further, "Banks have been encouraged to give such self-declaration capability to the individual customers through different non-face-to-face channels such as registered email-id, registered cellphone number, ATMs, digital channels (such as online banking/internet banking, mobile application), letter, etc., without requirement for a visit to a bank office."

Customers can provide a revised or updated address using any of these methods if there is just a minor address change. The bank will then verify the claimed address within two months.

According to the RBI, banks are required to comply with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 by maintaining their records through regular checks and updates (PMLA). If the KYC documents found in bank records do not comply with the current list of officially recognised documents—passport, driver's licence, evidence of Aadhaar number ownership, voter identity card, NREGA job card, and letter issued by the National Population Register—a new KYC process is required.

Also, it is required in situations where the earlier-submitted KYC document's validity may have run out. The RBI stated that in certain situations, banks must give a receipt acknowledging receipt of the customer's self-declaration or KYC papers.

Fresh KYC can be completed in person at a bank branch or remotely using a Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) (where enabled by banks), according to the statement.

"Individual clients of banks are advised to seek further information on the many alternatives available to them from their bank for (a) completing re-KYC (such as submission of self-declaration through various non-face-to-face channels); or (b) completing fresh KYC by visiting a bank branch or remotely using V-CIP".

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