Sunil Bharti Mittal-owned Airtel Payments Bank, on Thursday, said it has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for enrolling new customers.
The development comes nearly seven months after Airtel, along with Airtel Payments Bank, came under fire for allegedly opening payments bank accounts of its mobile subscribers without their consent, with LPG subsidy worth ₹190 crore deposited into accounts of around 31 lakh customers.
Aadhaar-based e-KYC
Aadhaar-issuing authority UIDAI has also allowed the company to use the 12-digit unique identification number-based e-KYC, it said.
“Airtel Payments Bank has received the requisite approvals from the Reserve Bank of India to start onboarding new customers. Airtel Payments Bank has also been permitted by the UIDAI to resume the onboarding of customers using Aadhaar-based e-KYC,” a company spokesperson said.
Airtel Payments Bank remains committed to the government’s vision of financial inclusion and banking for all, the spokesperson said.
Althoughthe company had denied any wrong-doing, the RBI had directed Airtel Payments Bank not to on-board new customers, while UIDAI had suspended the e-KYC licence of both Airtel and its payments bank.
In March, UIDAI had restored Airtel’s authorisation to conduct Aadhaar-based verification of its mobile subscribers, but did not lift the suspension of its payments bank’s e-KYC licence.