Comments
Even though your bank can no longer insist you submit Aadhaar number, the unique identity number will continue to be relevant as a key parameter for individual comfort and transparency in digital banking.
The Supreme Court on September 26, 2018 gave its final verdict on Aadhaar saying its seeding with bank accounts is no longer mandatory.
But acceptance of Aadhaar-based Know Your Customer (KYC) norms has become common for opening new bank accounts, buying insurance or even to get a mobile phone connection.
According to a senior executive of a Mumbai-based public sector bank, Aadhaar will continue to be important on many counts.
“While offering ease of transaction for customers in KYC validation, annual verification for distribution of pensions/social welfare schemes and in opening paperless accounts, use of Aadhaar has positive operational and cost implications for banks as well,” he told Business Line.
Mandatory linking of Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) but not for bank accounts will make them mutually exclusive. If they are linked it will help track income and bank account trajectory, say experts.
For financial inclusion and direct benefit transfer (DBT), Aadhaar has already been the fulcrum in view of massive Aadhaar seeding drives conducted by banks till recently. It has shown significant impact on the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts of public sector banks. For instance, of the 10.03 crore PMJDY accounts of State Bank of India, 7.47 crore accounts have been seeded with Aadhaar as on June 2018.
As on January 2018, out of 106.41 crore current accounts and savings accounts, 82.47 crore accounts are linked with Aadhaar.
According to the DBT Mission, over ₹59,000 crore savings were achieved due to DBT under various welfare schemes due to elimination of ghost beneficiaries.
It is expected that those who already have Aadhaar and have seeded it with banks will have to continue to use it without any break. At an individual level, digital KYC is a big-game changer. Aadhaar will continue to be relevant for those who use it in many financial transactions.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.