KYC details can be updated by year end: RBI

New Delhi: In view of the COVID-19 related restrictions enforced by several state governments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday announced that banks and other regulated entities cannot take any punitive restriction of customer accounts that are due or pending for periodic KYC update till December 31,2021.

“Keeping in view the COVID related restrictions in various parts of the country, Regulated Entities are being advised that for the customer accounts where periodic KYC updating is due/pending, no punitive restriction on operations of customer account(s) shall be imposed till December 31, 2021 unless warranted due to any other reason or under instructions of any regulator/enforcement agency/court of law, etc. Account holders are requested to update their KYC during this period” said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

Apart from this, RBI has also taken several other steps to rationalize certain components of the existing KYC norms. These steps include extension of video-KYC for new categories of customers, conversion of limited KYC accounts opened on the basis of Aadhaar e-KYC authentication in non-face-to-face mode to fully KYC-compliant accounts, use of digital channels for perioding updation of KYC.

“Taking forward the initiatives of the Reserve Bank for enhancing customer convenience, it has been decided to rationalise certain components of the extant KYC norms. These include (a) extending the scope of video KYC known as V-CIP (video-based customer identification process) for new categories of customers such as proprietorship firms, authorised signatories and beneficial owners of Legal Entities and for periodic updation of KYC; (b) conversion of limited KYC accounts opened on the basis of Aadhaar e-KYC authentication in non-face-to-face mode to fully KYC-compliant accounts; (c) enabling the use of KYC Identifier of Centralised KYC Registry (CKYCR) for V-CIP and submission of electronic documents (including identity documents issued through DigiLocker) as identify proof; (d) introduction of more customer-friendly   options, including the use of digital channels for the purpose of periodic updation of KYC details of customers” RBI said.