The bank is said to be testing the platform within a small pool of users. It is expected to roll out the service by offering instant savings and salary accounts.
HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private sector lender, is set to get on the video KYC bandwagon and could be going live with the service soon, according to two bankers in the know of the matter. This will allow the bank to onboard customers remotely, without the hassle of paperwork and physical branch visits.
The Mumbai-based lender is already testing the platform, having started initial onboarding of customers, but it is yet to roll it out nationally, the sources said.
Email queries sent to HDFC Bank are yet to elicit a response.
Other private sector lenders, including ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and DCB Bank, have already gone live with their video KYC product.
No physical presence
Video KYC is a process through which customers can open a full-fledged savings or loan account without having to physically visit the branch or undertake any lengthy paperwork. The Reserve Bank of India greenlighted this process of onboarding customers in January, after which many lenders started going live.
Banks are working with technology startups for remote document verification and video. Mumbai-based IDfy, Signzy and Veri5 Digital are some of the tech startups working with banks for this service.
While HDFC Bank did not comment on the service provider it is working with, the sources cited above say it is working with IDfy. An email sent to IDfy remained unanswered.
HDFC Bank is offering the service through its own website as well as through a dedicated app on the Play Store, called Insta Account. Currently it is offering a full-service savings and a salary account to begin with, but sources say it will be expanded across other services as well, including into credit cards, instant personal loans and others.
“Currently the bank is still testing the platform, it has to be prepared for massive scale given its reach in the country,” said one of the sources mentioned above.
How it works
As a part of the onboarding journey, the banker said that customers will have to use their Aadhaar number and a PAN card to validate the application. On opting for the video call option, the customer will receive a link to a video call with a bank official. The official will capture a photo and get electronic signatures from the customer and validate the original documents digitally.
“Accounts can be opened within minutes if the entire journey is undertaken smoothly,” the banker said.
While a digital customer onboarding process has been in the works for months, video KYC has assumed significance because of the Covid-19 outbreak. With physical distancing the norm and consumers wary of stepping out, banks are relying on a fully digital onboarding process to add new customers.
Ensuring safety during Covid-19
Kotak Mahindra Bank, one of the first to go live with video, back in May, had stated that digital delivery of services will become the norm because of the pandemic.
During the launch of its own service, another private sector lender, DCB Bank, said the video KYC process reduces paperwork and also ensures safe customer onboarding during events such as a pandemic.
However, as banks adopt more digital services, the chances of fraud also increase. Customers therefore need to be extremely careful about the video KYC process and ensure that all conversations are only undertaken through the banks’ secured channels.
There is no need for a Google Meet or WhatsApp Video call or Zoom call for this service, said the banker quoted earlier.