The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is going ahead and launching new services even as the decision on whether the Aadhaar card is mandatory for getting government subsidies is pending before the Supreme Court.
In a new initiative, Axis Bank entered into a tieup with the UIDAI that will enable the bank to open accounts by using the 12-digit Aadhaar number of the customer.
The bank will fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s norms on know-your-customer verification electronically (e-KYC) by using the biometric data of the customer. The fingerprints, once scanned at the bank’s biometric device, will enable the bank to collect data such as name, address and telephone number of the customer electronically from the UIDAI.
Data privacy
“The data will be sent to the bank’s server in an encrypted, digitally signed form,” said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI, ruling out the possibility of compromise of the customer’s private data. “It is far safer than using a paper-based KYC.”
Shikha Sharma, Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank, did not reveal how much the bank has spent in putting the technology together.
“It is not a huge amount. We are working with VISA on this, so it is on a variable cost model,” she said.
Earlier, this month, six banks — State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank and Mehsana Urban Co-operative Bank — signed up for a Aadhaar-based remittance system.