What Airtel’s new Face Match based eKYC Verification means for India

Airtel’s latest initiative prioritizes digital onboarding methods to assist online customer onboarding for its payments bank to create an account simply by doing a face match eKYC check on mobile devices. Airtel Payments Bank is the country’s first Payments Bank to offer this service, and it foreshadows India’s shift toward complete digital banking. 

Airtel Payments Bank’s new Face Authentication system

Airtel Payments Bank has announced the introduction of a face verification-based savings bank account opening for consumers as another move toward the changing digital banking landscape. The feature will make the account opening procedure even more simple and more comfortable for consumers. Airtel Payments Bank is the country’s first Payments Bank to provide this service.

The new service will allow the bank’s Business Correspondents (BCs) to create an account simply by performing facial authentication for eKYC. Using Aadhaar verification checks with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and eKYC verification procedures, customers may now be onboarded with a smartphone having a front camera to register an account. By the end of this year, the bank plans to make this service available at all of its 500,000 banking locations.

Anubrata Biswas, MD & CEO of Airtel Payments Bank, commented on the launch, saying, “We at Airtel Payments Bank believe in improving our bouquet of digital services with the newest technology and providing our clients access to better digital banking solutions that are user-friendly.” The UIDAI’s efforts have made this safe and secure authentication method feasible, which is a big step forward in the country’s inclusive banking cause.”

“This KYC facility employs an AI/ML-based Face Authentication RD Application, which aids in the avoidance of fraudulent activities by cross-referencing an individual’s photo with the image collected in Aadhaar and enables safe client onboarding,” added Anubrata Biswas.

Aadhaar Verification based on online KYC

Till now, if a customer wished to open an account with Airtel Payments Bank, the Aadhaar-based OTP or fingerprint biometric authentication was carried out.

Previously, if a consumer wanted to create an account with Airtel Payments Bank, they had to use Aadhaar-based OTP or fingerprint biometric authentication on an offline registration location with manual support from trained Airtel support team members. 

Shifting towards the digital mode of customer onboarding not only helps it scale signups but also carry out processes like transaction monitoring and regulatory screening all through a single identity verification process.

Learn how Online Client Onboarding works with Aadhaar eKYC Verification: Aadhaar Verification Online