SBI YONO: What is the new SIM binding feature?

The State Bank of India (SBI) has added a new security feature called ‘SIM Binding’ to its Yono and Yono Lite digital banking systems. Amid the rising popularity of contactless banking, the new feature, termed as ‘a giant leap towards ultimate banking safety’ tends to safeguard SBI customers from any digital scams and frauds. Both Yono and Yono Lite with the new SIM Binding feature will function only on devices which have a SIM card of the registered mobile numbers with the bank.  All the users must upgrade their SBI Yono and Yono Lite apps to the latest version (5.3.48) to enjoy the benefits seamlessly.

“We are glad to launch the SIM Binding feature in two of the most popular platforms of SBI i.e. YONO and YONO Lite. With this new feature, our aim is to provide enhanced security to all our customers and help them with a convenient and safe online banking experience. We at SBI always strive to encourage customers to perform digital banking services from the comfort of their homes and avail the one-stop banking and lifestyle solutions of YONO and YONO Lite,” Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh, DMD (strategy) and chief digital officer at SBI was quoted as saying.

What is ‘One Mobile Device – One User – One RMN’ rule?

The SIM binding feature basically follows the ‘One Mobile Device – One User – One RMN (registered mobile number)’ rule to execute banking transactions through the SBI app. The same digital model is followed by IRCTC for railway bookings where one user can access the website through one registered mobile number only. So what does is mean for SBI customers? In case you’re using an unregistered mobile number (not linked to the bank), you won’t be able to complete the registration process on Yono or Yono Lite. However, the new SIM binding feature will enable two different users to access Yono and Yono Lite separately in a dual SIM phone, provided that SIMs of the RMN of both the users are inserted in the device.

How to access it?

– To access the latest version of Yono and Yono Lite, users should update their mobile app and complete the one-time registration process on both these apps

– The registration process will include verification of your registered SIM with the bank

– Users should make sure to register themselves with the device that has the SIM of the registered contact number

Spreading digital wings

Yono, SBI’s integrated digital and lifestyle platform has as many as 37 million registered users. As per the company, the app witnesses 9 million logins per day. The bank has put a sincere focus on popularising and spreading its digital wings across the country. As per reports, nearly 2 million accounts were opened through Yono in the quarter ended March, 2021. Even in terms of pure digital lending, the country’s largest lender disbursed personal loans of more than Rs 5,300 crore through its mobile app in the last quarter.