No need for customers to visit bank branches for re-KYC: RBI Governor

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das on December 7 said customers do not need to visit the bank to update their details.

Customers can do re-KYC (know your customer) online except where there is a change of address, the governor said in an answer to a query during a press conference after sharing the monetary policy outcome.

As per RBI’s KYC norm guidelines, banks need to periodically update customer identification documents of their account holders.

In addition to the KYC carried out at the time of opening of an account, customers may be required to undergo re-KYC and submit the requisite documents, the RBI rules say.

Also read: RBI retains its consumer price inflation forecast at 6.7% for FY23

Das said banks can get customers re-KYCs without asking them to visit the branch.

If banks insist on branch visits for re-KYC, customers can raise a complaint with appropriate authorities, an RBI official said during the press conference.

The RBI’s monetary policy committee hiked the key repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 6.25 percent in its last meeting of 2022, continuing its fight against inflation.

Repo is the rate at which the central bank lends short-term funds to banks. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Also read: Another rate hike on the cards in February?

The MPC has been on a rate hike course throughout the year, increasing policy rates by nearly two percentage points to fight inflation. Retail inflation has remained above the central bank's comfort level for nearly the entire year.