Kotak Mahindra Bank enables face authentication-based e-KYC

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) on Tuesday said it has enabled client onboarding via face authentication-based Aadhaar e-KYC. “Kotak is one of the first banks to go live with enabling client onboarding via face authentication-based e-KYC,” the bank said in its official statement.

The authentication is done via a mobile application developed by UIDAI. No additional device will be required to perform the authentication. The bank said this facility brings forth the convenience of significant time-saving as it takes only a few minutes to complete the entire authentication process.

“Kotak Mahindra Bank believes in using the latest technology to bring in new and improved digital banking solutions to our customers. We would like to thank UIDAI for introducing the face authentication app through which we can offer this seamless digital onboarding to our customers,” said Puneet Kapoor, President-Products, Alternative Channels and Customer Experience Delivery, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The Aadhaar based face authentication method is used as an alternative to the currently used fingerprint authentication on Kotak Bank Digital Savings Account.

On visiting the bank branch, customers can give consent to complete their KYC using Aadhaar based authentication. “They will be authenticated using the Aadhaar authentication process as prescribed in the bank regulations,” Kotak bank said. A successful face authentication confirms that the physical face being scanned for verification matches the one that was taken at the time of enrollment of Aadhaar number and verifies the identity of the person.

Onboarding via this process will help reduce the cost of acquiring for the bank as the cost pertaining to fingerprint device procurement and maintenance will go away. “This modality will also provide resolution to fading fingerprint miniature capture issues and related failures, especially for sourcing in the rural areas where farmer fingerprints change over the period of time,” the bank said in its statement.