No bank visit required to update KYC: RBI

New Delhi : The RBI has announced that bank account holders are no longer required to visit their bank branches to update “know your customer” (KYC) information if they have previously submitted valid documents and have not changed their address.

If there has been no change to their KYC information, they can instead submit a self-declaration via email-id, registered mobile number, ATMs, or any other digital channel.

In response to Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das’s statement that banks should not require branch visits for KYC updates, the central bank issued guidelines on Thursday for the same.

“According to the current guidelines, if there is no change in KYC information, a customer’s self-declaration is sufficient to complete the re-KYC process.”

“The banks have been instructed to provide this self-declaration facility to individual customers through various non-face-to-face channels, such as registered email-id, registered mobile number, ATMs, digital channels (such as online banking/internet banking, mobile application), letter, etc., without requiring a visit to a bank branch,” the document stated.

If there is only a change in address, customers can provide a revised/updated address through any of these channels, and the bank will verify the address within two months.

In accordance with the 2002 Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the RBI has mandated that banks keep their records up-to-date and relevant through periodic reviews and updates (PMLA).

If KYC documents available in bank records do not conform to the current list of officially valid documents—passport, driving licence, proof of Aadhaar number possession, voter’s identity card, NREGA job card, and letter issued by the National Population Register—a new KYC process is required.

In addition, it is required if the previously submitted KYC documentation has expired.

The RBI stated that in such instances, banks are required to provide a receipt acknowledgment for the KYC documents or self-declaration submitted by the customer.

“Fresh KYC process can be completed by visiting a bank branch or remotely via a Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) (wherever banks have enabled the same),” it stated.

Individual bank customers are encouraged to learn more about their bank’s options for (a) completing re-KYC (such as self-declaration through various non-face-to-face channels) and (b) completing new KYC by visiting a bank branch or remotely via V-CIP.