by Mr. Arnav Pandya, CA, CFP
Opening a bank account got a little easier with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announcing several helpful measures for account holders.
Some of these might seem to be procedural in nature, but at the ground level, they can have a severe impact on the entire process. Individuals will find the going to be quicker and process easier to complete as they face up to the situation.
Here are some of the major changes and how an individual can actually look at the entire situation.
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| Arnav Pandya, CA, CFP. |
Introducer Not Necessary..!
While opening an account in most banks, especially public sector banks, they ask for an introducer to the account holder who is looking to open the account. This means that the bank wants someone who they know & is most probably their existing customer to recommend the name of the new account holder. This is considered to be a part of the overall safety guidelines that are built into the entire process.
However, when it comes to the question of doing this in reality, getting an introducer creates a bit of problem. Now when the bank is undertaking a detailed know your client (KYC) process, this measure is not relevant and, hence, RBI has asked the banks to do away with the process of asking for an introducer as this is not necessary.
Only one Document Enough..!
Banks normally ask for two (2) documents - proof of identity & proof of address - for the purpose of opening a bank account.
There are some documents where the proof of identity & address can be completed in a single sitting. This means that the document has the photo as well as the address of the individual.
An example of this is a passport / or ration card (Family head). Some banks often do not accept this and ask for two different documents that fulfill both the requirements separately.
In this case, once again the central bank RBI has stepped in and said banks to accept just one document when both the conditions are being fulfilled.
AADHAR Card..!:
With AADHAR card coming into picture recently, there was a lot of confusion with its acceptance in banks as a document proof. Many banks actually were allowing individuals to use the card as a proof of identity, but not as a proof of address, which meant that only half of the work was being done.
In such a situation, RBI has clarified that the card can be used for both, as a proof of identity & proof of address. All these items taken together point to a situation where there is going to be ease of opening the bank account in the times to come
About the author...!
The writer Mr. Arnav Pandya is a CA and CFP (certified financial planner)
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