The 16 Digit unique identification pan-India project launched by the Central Government has started gaining acceptance. Five leading national banks; SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Axis Bank have decided to offer Accounts that require only the Aadhar card as the verification document.
With the RBI recently directing the banks to accept Aadhar letter as the proof of both identity and address if the address provided by the account holder is the same as that on the Aadhar card, the banks have now started to honor the Aadhar Card. Besides bringing down the tedious process of physical verification, banks can now significantly bring down customer-acquisition costs says Axis Bank MD and CEO Shikha Sharma, “Through a product like Aadhar-enabled KYC (Know Your Customer), we are bringing down the cost of account and that makes a product lot more attractive. And it will definitely further the cause of financial inclusion.” This endeavor will help to serve across the generations & slabs of economic capabilities says UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani, “This initiative will not only help the financially undeserved to access formal banking processes, but will also serve as a forerunner for the inclusive applications which we hope to see emerge on the Aadhar foundational platform”
This has been made possible by VISA network, which integrates and links the different systems being operated by banks with the government’s national identity database. Known as ‘Saral Money’ banking account, customers will be able to open an account using only Aadhar Card as ‘Proof of Identity’ as well as ‘Proof Of Residence’. Additionally, the Visa payment settlement-based Saral Money account will enable the customer to make purchases, send money or receive government disbursements at the existing ATMs, point of sale terminals and proposed micro ATMs too.
Aadhar Card’s role in the financial aspect of the common Indian is a very important one. With Biometric verification, there will lesser pilferage claim Government authorities. Slowly & steadily the Aadhar Card will soon become mandatory for all the monetary transactions. In fact realizing this scenario well in advance, Indian population had rushed to banks to open an account way back when Aadhar card was in its infancy. Have you procured your Aadhar card yet?
Image Courtesy | thecalibre
