No punitive action if KYC not done: RBI

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on May 5 said that till the end of this year, banks and other institutions will not take any punitive action like blocking access to any account against any customer who might have failed to submit KYC documents.

“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,” he said.

His statement comes five days after Money9 reported on how even in the times of surging infection and lockdowns the country’s biggest bank the State Bank of India was harassing customers by asking them to turn up at the branch with hard copies of KYC documents.

The threat

SBI employees were also threatening customers on phone saying if they failed to do so within seven days, their accounts would be frozen.

Some customers even took to social media to vent their frustration at the attitude of the bank that was threatening closure of savings and PPF accounts if they failed to comply within a week.

Within hours of the Money9 report, SBI hurriedly issued a direction to its employees not to ask any customer to visit any branch.

U-turn

In a one-page letter addressed to the chief general managers of all circles, the bank had said that customers who have failed to submit KYC documents so far should do so by post and email.

The communication was signed by the chief general manager (retail and digital banking) on April 30.

“In no case, the customer should be asked personally to visit the branch for KYC updation,” the letter said.

It also instructed the CGMs of all the circles that partial freezing of CIFs due for KYC updation is not done up to May 31, 2021.

CIF or customer information file contains banking information of an account holder in a digital format. In other words, it means that customers were given one more month to send hard copies of KYC documents through postal/courier services and email.

SBI had set February 28, 2020, as the last date for submission of KYC documents for its customers.

Managers of SBI branches in Kolkata said that while most of the customers have complied with the KYC requirements, a minority share is yet to do so.

Sharp contrast

The insistence of the bank for its customers to visit the branch in an age of digital banking was in sharp contrast to its constant campaign to ask its customers to stay at home and avail of the services through its YONO mobile banking app.

It was all the more ironic since SBI recently launched a video KYC-based account opening feature on the YONO app. The bank introduced this latest feature to help customers open an account without having to visit the bank branch considering the current pandemic situation.

“Stay safe at home, we are there to serve you. SBI provides you a contactless service that will help you with your urgent banking needs. Call our toll-free number 1800112211 or 1800 425 3800,” the bank twitted from its official handle on April 30.