Amazon Pay rolls out doorstep KYC verification for wallet users

Amazon Pay has started making doorstep visits to verify its users’ Know Your Customer (KYC) details. The digital wallet service of e-commerce giant Amazon has taken this step to comply with the Supreme Court last September which barred private companies from resorting to Aadhaar-based e-KYC procedures.

The Amazon India portal showed multiple agencies operating across Delhi-NCR as part of its home services offering. It is also incentivising users to complete their KYC by January 31 by offering cashbacks. 

The listed agencies collect a photocopy of government-approved identity proof verified against the original document as well a passport photograph of the individual. The process is completed in seven days. The platform does not charge for the service at present.

Separate guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) require mobile wallets to complete the KYC verification process for users within a year of opening the wallet. However, the central bank has also mandated that all mobile wallets need to complete KYC verification for their customers by the end of next month. Failure to comply with the RBI deadline may cost such companies a significant chunk of users.

According to industry players, the process of physical KYC verification costs around Rs 60 per customer. In contrast, Aadhaar-based eKYC would cost as little as Rs 10 for each customer. 

Digital wallet player Paytm has also introduced physical verification services while Unified Payments Interface-based wallets such as Google Pay and PhonePe are not required to comply with these requirements.

An amendment bill which was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this week will also make an exception for telecom companies and banks, allowing use of Aadhaar-based eKYC with explicit permission of the customer.