Punjab & Sind Bank signs MoU with unique ID authority

State-owned Punjab & Sind Bank today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to act as a registrar for its' unique identification project 'Aadhar'.

Under the agreement, the bank having a customer base of about 65 lakhs would collect biometric and demographic details, as per UID norms, of its account holders as well as future customers.

There is a great opportunity for the bank to be associated with UIDAI for such a large scale project, said Punjab & Sind Bank Executive Director P K Anand.

Punjab & Sind Bank has deep penetration in rural Punjab where our financial inclusion project is targeted for taking a lead in Unique Identification Project, he said.

"We can leverage on the fact that there is a large number of migrant labour from Bihar, Eastern UP and Jharkhand, who can be enrolled under UIDAI project so that they can remit there funds to their native place through there Smart Card Technology," he said.

The bank will ensure speedy and smooth enrolling, which will be essential for accurate completion of the project, he said. Punjab & Sind Bank has 924 branches across the country, out of which 325 branches are in rural areas.