Paperless e-KYC (Know Your Customer) is presented by UIDAI to enforce inclusion, privacy & security. It will allow Aadhaar number holders to voluntarily utilize their cards to confirm their identification in a paperless and digital manner.
RBI has decided to invite applications from NBFCs, Payment System Providers and Payment System Participants to obtain digital Aadhaar authentication. Banks & Financial Institutions with licenses are adopting the data security measures for Aadhar Vault to enable e-KYC integration and seamless data verification.
Craft Silicon has recently tied up with Karza technologies to offer e-KYC services to the small finance banks and their BCs. It aims to offer seamless integration and real-time data verification.
The offline e-KYC approach allows Aadhaar cardholders to provide their KYC data for authentication quickly and simply. The KYC details are in an XML format. One can easily download an XML file version of their KYC information as an Aadhaar cardholder and give it to the requesting service providers or organizations. The UIDAI substantiates the XML file, which is a tamper-proof document, and it is signed electronically, adding to the security of the data being transmitted. The agencies can additionally verify the user’s identity by utilizing their own OTP or facial authentication.
Key Benefits of adopting e-KYC 
● Cost Reduction
E-KYC significantly lowers the cost of paper-based verification and KYC as it reduces the paper expenses that are avoided immediately, and the resources required to maintain it, like people, inventory, storage, etc resulting in massive cost-cutting.
● Privacy
Privacy is addressed under E-KYC as the Aadhaar number of the customer is not disclosed, only a reference ID is shared. Moreover, core biometrics (fingerprints or iris) are not required for such verification. The Aadhaar number holder gets a choice of the data (among the demographics data and photo) to be shared giving the control in the hand of the customer.
● Security
UIDAI digitally signs Aadhar KYC data to ensure its validity and detect any manipulation. Agencies can also use their OTP/Face Authentication to verify the data. Residents have control over their data since KYC data is encrypted using the phrase given by the Aadhaar number bearer.
● Inclusion
According to the Signicat report (2020), 40% of consumers abandon the banking onboarding process in between because of the time required to complete the steps, or the need to reveal excessive personal information. E-KYC helps to reduce the time and will resolve the issue of privacy as it is voluntary and Aadhaar number holder driven.
Process
- Aadhar card is given to the bank officer who takes a note of the Aadhaar number
- Authentication is done through a fingerprint or image of the retina. Otherwise, one-time password ( OTP ) based authentication can be done.
- The value is transferred to the UIDAI using secure servers as soon as the instrument reads the biometric data. The input biometric data is matched against the value stored in the central database for that specific Aadhaar number.
- Following successful verification, the UIDAI will notify the corresponding bank or agency of all credentials, such as addresses, dates of birth, pictures, and so on, effectively eliminating the need to carry multiple needless papers.
The UIDAI allows an agent or an organization to maintain a digital or soft copy of all relevant information on their remote server, giving them the flexibility to utilize them as and when they are needed.
Way to access e-KYC
Any person who has their Aadhaar card will be able to easily access their e-KYC data by following steps:
● Visit: https://uidai.gov.in/
● Download the Paperless Offline e-KYC form
● The next step will be to fill up the form carefully and submit the same
● The applicable information will be available for downloading the same as an XML file that will be digitally signed by the appropriate authority of UIDA
Data covered in offline e-KYC
Service providers or agencies will be able to authenticate the details. Let us see what details they will be able to see while downloading or getting offline e-KYC data included in the XML.
- Name of the Resident
- Download the Reference Number
- Address
- Photo
- Date of Birth or Year of Birth
- Gender
- Mobile Number in hashed form
- Email Address in hashed form
The Aadhaar Offline e-KYC data is encoded using a “Share Phrase” granted by the Aadhaar holder at the time of download, which must be shared with service providers or agencies for them to access a person’s KYC data or user information.
Ways to share Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC Data
Data can be shared with the verifying agency by the Aadhaar number holder in digital or physical format along with a shared phrase.
● Digital Format: XML/PDF
○ Preferred when a high-quality photo is required
● Printed Format: QR code
○ When the resident is more comfortable with a physically printed format
○ Low-resolution photo for visual inspection only
Currently, all the financial institutions and banks are undergoing a significant digitization phase. Digital transformation has been a component of the most impactful organizational developments in the recent decade, of which e-KYC is a part.
Companies must adopt electronic identification processes with high levels of safety and reliability and follow the guidelines outlined in AML5 or eIDAS laws to guarantee that e-KYC methods match the same safety standards as traditional identification and face verification.
Craft Silicon is a leading financial technology solution provider and recognized as one of the most tech-savvy software groups globally. Craft Silicon supports 300+ financial Institutions by delivering value in over 30 countries. Craft Silicon provides robust solutions that include Core Banking, Loan Management, Channel Banking etc. – Managing over $7.4Bn of Loan Portfolio, 77Mn customers & 2Bn transactions per year in Asia region.
Author: Divya Jyothi | Assistant Marketing Manager
Divya is a goal driven Marketing and Product design professional with over 6 years of corporate experience. She oversees end-to-end marketing management by developing and executing integrated marketing strategies to advance sales and customer engagement. Functioned as a Meticulous product designer balancing multiple deadlines while maintaining an organized yet, creative approach towards user research, product interaction design, UX & UI design.
