Telcos told to be ready with new KYC process by Nov 5

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked telecom operators to be ready with an alternate verification process for approval from the department by November 5, as it ordered the operators to stop using Aadhaar e-KYC for the verification process.

The DoT in a notification on Friday ordered immediate discontinuation of the Aadhaar-based verification process for telecom subscribers in accordance with the Supreme Court's verdict on September 26 which barred private entities from possessing Aadhaar details of their customers.

The telecom industry, through its joint representation on October 5, had suggested an alternate digital KYC (Know Your Customer) process for mobile subscribers.

"All telecom service providers are directed to ensure readiness of their systems and offer the Proof of Concept of the proposed digital process by 5 November for approval," the notification said.

It further said: "Meanwhile, this process can be implemented provisionally by all TSPs (telecom service providers).

Any modification if required in the process by the government shall be carried out with a period of 30 days, it noted.

Directing TSPs to stop the use of Aadhaar-based verification, DoT said: "All licensees shall discontinue the use of Aadhaar e-KYC service of UIDAI for re-verification of existing subscribers with immediate effect."

The system proposed by the operators envisaged that the Customer Acquisition Form would be embedded with live photograph of subscriber and scanned images of proof of identity (POI) and proof of address (POA), thereby digitizing the end-to-end process of providing new subscriptions.

--IANS

rrb/mag/vm