Bank account number portability can be reality soon - RBI
PrintListen to this Article
With increase in Aadhaar enrollment and technology advancements, banks and stakeholders must start thinking and prepare for bank account number portability to be made into reality, said the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday.
Bank account number portability allows a banking customer to retain an account number even if she or he switches to another bank. A similar facility in the telecom sector — Mobile Number Portability — lets subscribers change telecom operators without losing the mobile number in use.
The two key enablers for this in the Indian banking context are Aadhaar as the unique identification for customers and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) as a central payment system.
“In the last two years, the way we have moved, the Aadhaar enrolment has happened, platforms creation by NPCI, many apps have been introduced to do the IMPS (immediate payment service). With all these I think, the time has come that account number portability is a very much in the realm of possibility," said RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundra at a banking event organised by Banking Codes and Standard Board of India (BCSBI).
"This is better if it comes with combined efforts of the stakeholders than a regulatory prescription. I think IBA (Indian Banks’ Association) should take a note of it and start working with it," he added.
The Indian telecom sector has already adapted the idea making it easier for customers to switch operators retaining the same mobile number driving higher competition and pricing for people.
According to Mundra, once that happens then you will have a silent customer who would simply move away without even talking to you. “Both way banks should prepare for that eventuality and all the stakeholders should start thinking that how the account number portability can be made a reality in the Indian banking sector,” he added.
Today there are multiple numbers such as the IFSC code, bank account number, mobile money identifier (MMID) number for IMPS, customer relationship number, etc to identify one specific bank account.
This can be made possible with the Aadhaar payments bridge system (APBS) developed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and NPCI. The APBS can route transactions to an individual based on his Aadhaar number if the bank details are linked to Aadhaar.
Mundra had in the past floated bank account portability. If the plan succeeds, India will be the first country to adopt such a system.
In April 2012, the banking regulator had asked banks to allow intra-bank account portability in cases where full KYC (know your customer) details of the concerned account had been ascertained and a customer could operate and use the same account number across any branch of one bank.#casansaar (Source - MoneyControl)
Category : RBI | Comments : 0 | Hits : 977
RBI has issued draft rules to tighten dividend payouts by banks by linking distributions to capital adequacy, asset and profit quality, setting a uniform prudential framework effective from FY27. In the previous financial year, banks paid over Rs 75,000 crore dividend after booking record profits. Under RBI's draft rules, dividend payments by banks will be governed by a common set of conditions from FY27. The directions apply to all banking companies, corresponding new banks and SBI, and ...
Listing of an Indian company on international stock exchanges got a push with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) coming out with regulations under Foreign Exchange Management (FEMA). Experts believe new regulations will help companies utilise foreign exchange more effectively. Regulations have been made public through two notifications. First set of regulations deals with mode of payment and reporting of non-debt instruments. “The proceeds of purchase / subscription of equity shares of an ...
The Lok Sabha elections 2024 are in full swing with electioneering adding much colour to the entire process. However, to ensure that there is no wrongdoing, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sent a missive to Payment System Operators (PSOs) asking them to keep a watch on all suspicious high-value transactions that they may come across in their systems. The general purpose of the letter is to deny the use of electronic fund transfer mechanism to anyone who is intending to influence the election...
he Reserve Bank on Tuesday came out with draft guidelines to further strengthen regulations on payment aggregators, a move aimed at boosting the payment ecosystem. The draft also covers the physical point-of-sale activities of payment aggregators (PAs). The RBI said that given the growth in digital transactions and the significant role that PAs play in this space, the current directions on PAs are proposed to be updated and cover, inter alia, KYC and due diligence of merchants, operations ...
The RBI on Monday eased rules to allow resident entities to hedge their exposures to the price risk of gold using the OTC derivatives in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in addition to the derivatives on the exchanges in the IFSC. Resident entities such as banks were permitted to hedge their exposure to the price risk of gold on the exchanges in the IFSC that are recognised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), and the new directive provides them...
Comments