E-KYC to be accepted for verification: Irda

Earlier, Irda had earlier informed insurers that letter issued by UIDAI containing details of name, address and Aadhaar number was considered officially valid document

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) said on Monday that the e-KYC (electronic know-your-customer) services operationalised by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will be accepted as valid KYC process for insurance.

Earlier, Irda had informed insurers that a letter issued by the UIDAI containing details such as name, address and Aadhaar number was a valid document for customer identification.

UIDAI had operationalised e-KYC services recently. “The acceptability of these services for KYC purposes under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, was discussed with the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance and operational issues were taken up with the insurers,” Irda said in a circular. It pointed out that the finance ministry has said e-KYC services may be accepted as a valid process for KYC verification under the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005. In the light of this, “it has been decided that e-KYC services of UIDAI is acceptable for KYC verification subject to specific and express consent of the customer to access his/her data through UIDAI system”, Irda noted.

The regulator added in cases where e-KYC services are availed for KYC verification, certification requirements under earlier guidelines of anti-money laundering shall be deemed to be complied with.