Airtel Payments Bank, the banking unit of Bharti Airtel has stated that it received necessary approvals from the Reserve Bank of India to add new customers. Furthermore, Airtel Payments Bank also received permission from the Aadhaar body UIDAI for the usage of Aadhaar based e-KYC verification, while taking new customers on board. “Airtel Payments Bank has received requisite approvals from The Reserve Bank of India to start on-boarding new customers. Airtel Payments Bank has also been permitted by the UIDAI to resume the on-boarding of customers using Aadhaar based e-KYC. We thank the authorities for the approvals,” stated an Airtel Payments Bank spokesperson.
“We remain committed to the Government’s vision of financial inclusion and banking for all,” the spokesperson further added. Very recently, it was revealed that Airtel Payments Bank was not adding new customers on board since January this year, thanks to a directive from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
RBI initiated this directive because of the violation of terms and conditions by Airtel Payments Bank on KYC verification late last year. For the unaware, several customers stated that Airtel Payments Bank opened payments bank account without their consent and deposited cooking gas subsidy worth Rs 1 Billion into the accounts. When this news broke out, Aadhaar body UIDAI barred the eKYC license of Airtel and Airtel Payments Bank which will be used at the time of adding new customers on board.
Later in March, RBI imposed a massive fine of Rs 50 million on Airtel Payments Bank for the violation of norms. When the news of Airtel Payments Bank not adding new customers since the start of the year came out, an Airtel Spokesperson stated as "The queries raised by you are old matters that are already in the public domain. Airtel Payments Bank has not been onboarding new customers as per RBI directive since January 5, 2018. We have already shared all the details relating to our compliance with the authorities and are hopeful of a resolution at the earliest."
Having said that, Airtel Payments Bank unit has been facing a lot of struggles since the last eight months, which have been cleared now. Airtel Payments Bank can now add new customers using the Aadhaar eKYC method as well.
