HDFC Bank adds 250,000 customers via instant account opening in lockdown

Banks were classified as an "essential service" and allowed to be open, but the lockdown meant fewer customer footfalls, making the online alternative helpful to open new deposit accounts

Despite the lockdown, the largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has been able to add 250,000 new customers in the last 40 days through an online facility which helps open savings accounts instantly, sources said.

The account is created using a "limited know your customer (KYC)" requirement provision, and the customer has a year's time after the instant account opening to update full details, said a report by the news agency Press Trust of India.

The 'Instant Account App' was launched in late April, when there was strict lockdown across the country.