The Reserve Bank of India has given banks nine more months to complete the process of allotting Unique Customer Identification Code (UCIC) to their customers.

The extension till March 31, 2014, comes in the wake of some banks expressing difficulties in implementing UCIC for their customers, for various reasons. The RBI, however, reiterated that UCIC should be allotted to all customers while entering into new relationships.

Faced with increasing complexity and volume of financial transactions, the central bank wants each bank customer to be allotted a UCIC to ensure they do not have multiple identities within a bank, across the banking system and across the financial system. It would also smoothen banking operations for the customers.