penalty on unimoni financial

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed monetary penalty of ₹2.97 million on Unimoni Financial Services Limited (the entity) for non-compliance with the instruction contained in paragraph 9.1(i) of the Master Direction on Issuance and Operation of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI MD) dated October 11, 2017 (as updated on November 17, 2020).

It was observed that the entity was non-compliant with the directions issued by RBI on small-PPI requirements. Accordingly, notice was issued to the entity advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions.

https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=53696

This is RBI's way of announcing regulatory measures. So pathetic it is not giving any details of the non compliance or violation of the provisions of the regulations. 

monetary penalty on PNB, BOI

RBI has vide its press release levied monetary penalties of Rs.2 crores and Rs.4 crores each respectively on Punjab National Bank and Bank of India. 

For PNB it is relating to 

non-compliance of certain provisions of directions issued by RBI contained in the Master Directions on “Frauds – Classification and Reporting by commercial banks and select FIs” dated July 01, 2016 and, the circular on "Creation of a Central Repository of Large Common Exposures - Across Banks” dated September 11, 2013.

For Bank of India, it is relating to 

non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI contained in the “Master Circular on KYC norms/AML standards/ CFT / Obligation of banks under PMLA, 2002” dated July 1, 2014, circular on “The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014 - Section 26A of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 - Operational Guidelines” dated May 27, 2014, “Master Circular on Frauds – Classification and Reporting” dated July 02, 2012 and circular on “Sale of Financial Assets of Doubtful Standard / Fraudulent Origin to Securitization Company (SC) / Reconstruction Company (RC) - Reporting Requirements” dated April 5, 2011.

MSME covid relief - RBI

 RBI has vide its circular dated 4th June, 2021 enhanced the covid relief to the MSME sector by increasing the aggregate credit exposure from Rs.25 crores to Rs.50 crores. Under the resolution framework for Covid stress, banks can now consider giving higher reliefs to the MSME sector. This is a welcome move. Read on 

https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12105&Mode=0

A reference is invited to the circular DOR.STR.REC.12/21.04.048/2021-22 on “Resolution Framework 2.0 – Resolution of Covid-19 related stress of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)” dated May 5, 2021.

2. Clause 2 of the above circular specifies the eligibility conditions for MSME accounts to be considered for restructuring under the framework, which inter alia include sub-clause (iii) which states that the aggregate exposure, including non-fund based facilities, of all lending institutions to the MSME borrower should not exceed ₹25 crore as on March 31, 2021.

3. Based on a review, it has been decided to enhance the above limit from ₹25 crore to ₹50 crore.

4. Consequently, clause 2(v) would stand modified as under:

“(v) The borrower’s account was not restructured in terms of the circulars DOR.No.BP.BC/4/21.04.048/2020-21 dated August 6, 2020; DOR.No.BP.BC.34/21.04.048/2019-20 dated February 11, 2020; or DBR.No.BP.BC.18/21.04.048/2018-19 dated January 1, 2019 (collectively referred to as MSME restructuring circulars) or the circular DOR.No.BP.BC/3/21.04.048/2020-21 dated August 6, 2020 on “Resolution Framework for COVID-19-related Stress.”

individuals & small businesses - RBI relief

 https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12104&Mode=0

RBI has given relief to individuals and small borrowers having credit exposure upto Rs.25 crores to be given covid relief. The limit has been enhanced to Rs.50 crores. Whatever resolution has to be done by the banks for them has to be as per the earlier RBI circular dated 5th May, 2021. Read on. 

A reference is invited to circular DOR.STR.REC.11/21.04.048/2021-22 on “Resolution Framework – 2.0: Resolution of Covid-19 related stress of Individuals and Small Businesses” dated May 5, 2021.

2. Clause 5 of the above circular specifies the eligible borrowers who may be considered for resolution under the framework and includes the following sub-clauses:

(b) Individuals who have availed of loans and advances for business purposes and to whom the lending institutions have aggregate exposure of not more than ₹25 crore as on March 31, 2021.

(c) Small businesses, including those engaged in retail and wholesale trade, other than those classified as MSME as on March 31, 2021, and to whom the lending institutions have aggregate exposure of not more than ₹25 crore as on March 31, 2021.

3. Based on a review, it has been decided to enhance the above limits from ₹25 crore to ₹50 crore.

Asset reconstruction companies

RBI has vide its circular dated 15th June, 2020 laid down fair practices code for Asset Reconstruction Companies and mandated them to adopt the same and abide by the same. 

The Gist of the Fair Practices Code is given below:

Fair Practices Code for Asset Reconstruction Companies In order to achieve the highest standards of transparency and fairness in dealing with stakeholders, Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) are advised to put in place Fair Practices Code (FPC) duly approved by their Board. The following paragraphs provide the minimum regulatory expectation while each ARC’s Board is free to enhance its scope and coverage. The FPC must be followed in right earnest and the Board must involve itself in its evolution and proper implementation at all times. The FPC shall be placed in public domain for information of all stakeholders. 1. ARC shall follow transparent and non-discriminatory practices in acquisition of assets. It shall maintain arm’s length distance in the pursuit of transparency. 2. In order to enhance transparency in the process of sale of secured assets, (i) invitation for participation in auction shall be publicly solicited; the process should enable participation of as many prospective buyers as possible; (ii) terms and conditions of such sale may be decided in wider consultation with investors in the security receipts as per SARFAESI Act 2002; (iii) spirit of Section 29A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 may be followed in dealing with prospective buyers. 3. ARCs shall release all securities on repayment of dues or on realisation of the outstanding amount of loan, subject to any legitimate right or lien for any other claim they may have against the borrower. If such right of set off is to be exercised, the borrower shall be given notice about the same with full particulars about the remaining claims and the conditions under which ARCs are entitled to retain the securities till the relevant claim is settled/ paid. 4. ARCs shall put in place Board approved policy on the management fee, expenses and incentives, if any, claimed from trusts under their management. The Board approved policy should be transparent and ensure that management fee is reasonable and proportionate to financial transactions. 5. ARCs intending to outsource any of their activity shall put in place a comprehensive outsourcing policy, approved by the Board, which incorporates, inter alia, criteria for selection of such activities as well as service providers, delegation of authority depending on risks and materiality and systems to monitor and review the operations of these activities/ service providers. ARC shall ensure that outsourcing arrangements neither diminish its ability to fulfil its obligations to customers and the RBI nor impede effective supervision by RBI. The outsourced agency, if owned/controlled by a director of the ARC, the same may be made part of the disclosures specified in the Master Circular. 6. In the matter of recovery of loans, ARCs shall not resort to harassment of the debtor. ARCs shall ensure that the staff are adequately trained to deal with customers in an appropriate manner. (i) ARCs shall put in place a Board approved Code of Conduct for Recovery Agents and obtain their undertaking to abide by that Code. ARCs, as principals, are responsible for the actions of their Recovery Agents. (ii) It is essential that the Recovery Agents observe strict customer confidentiality. (iii) ARCs shall ensure that Recovery Agents are properly trained to handle their responsibilities with care and sensitivity, particularly in respect of aspects such as hours of calling, privacy of customer information, etc. They should ensure that Recovery Agents do not induce adoption of uncivilized, unlawful and questionable behaviour or recovery process. 7. ARCs should constitute Grievance Redressal machinery within the organisation. The name and contact number of designated grievance redressal officer of the ARC should be mentioned in the communication with the borrowers. The designated officer should ensure that genuine grievances are redressed promptly. ARCs' Grievance Redressal machinery will also deal with the issue relating to services provided by the outsourced agency and recovery agents, if any. 8. ARCs shall keep the information, they come to acquire in course of their business, strictly confidential and shall not disclose the same to anyone including other companies in the group except when (i) required by law; (ii) there is duty towards public to reveal information; or (iii) there is borrower’s permission. 9. Compliance with FPC shall be subject to periodic review by the Board. Copy of RBI circular can be found here

NBFC - audit of accounts

RBI has vide its circular dated 6th July, 2020 extended the timeline for finalisation of accounts of listed systemically important non deposit taking and deposit taking companies by such period as is allowed by SEBI. 

Hitherto, the time allowed for finalisation of accounts of systemically important deposit taking and non deposit taking companies is 3 months from the financial period closure i.e. by 30th June, in case the fianncial year closes on 31st March. But with this circular RBI has given relief only to listed such entities as they are also governed by SEBI regulations. 

Copy of the RBI circular can be found here

MSME sector

RBI circular dated 5th February, 2020 regarding interest subvention scheme for MSMEs.

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11803&Mode=0

As Government of India, on November 2, 2018, has announced ‘Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs 2018’.

Key points of the Scheme:

-          Prime Minister announced 2% interest subvention for all GST registered MSMEs, on fresh or incremental loans.

-          Eligibility

1.      All MSMEs who meet the following criteria shall be eligible as beneficiaries under the Scheme :

                               a. Valid Udyog Aadhar Number [UAN]

                          b. Valid GSTN Number

2.      Incremental term loan or fresh term loan or incremental or fresh working capital extended during the current FY viz. from 2nd November 2018 and next FY would be eligible for coverage.

3.      The term loan or working capital should have been extended by Scheduled Commercial Banks.

4.      In order to ensure maximum coverage and outreach, all working capital or term loan would be eligible for coverage to the extent of ₹100 lakh only during the period of the Scheme.

5.      Wherever both the facilities working capital and term loan are extended to a MSME by an eligible institution, interest subvention would be made available for a maximum financial assistance of ₹100 lakh.

6.      MSME exporters availing interest subvention for pre-shipment or post-shipment credit under Department of Commerce will not be eligible for assistance under Interest Subvention Scheme for Incremental credit to MSMEs 2018.

7.      MSMEs already availing interest subvention under any of the Schemes of the State / Central Govt. will not be eligible under the proposed Scheme.

Based on this Scheme RBI has vide its notification dated 5^th February, 2020, modified the operational guidelines:

1.      Submission of statutory auditor certificate by 30^th June, 2020 and in the meantime, settle claims based on internal / concurrent auditor certificate.

2.      Acceptance of claims in multiple lots for a given half year by eligible institutions.

3.      Requirement of Udyog Aadhar Number (UAN) may be dispensed with for units eligible for GST. Unit not required to obtain GST, may either submit Income Tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) or their loan account must be categorized as MSME by the concerned bank.

4.      Allow trading activities also without Udyog Aadhar Number (UAN)

5.      There is Revised Format of Certificate for claiming Subsidy i.e. Annex I, where Banks are advised to submit claims to SIDBI as per the revised format.

Rupee Derivatives

RBI circular dated 21st January, 2020 allowing rupee derivatives (with settlement in foreign currency) by the IFSC Banking Units.

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11794&Mode=0

Please refer to RBI circular DBR.IBD.BC.14570/23.13.004/2014-15 dated April 01, 2015, as modified from time to time, setting out RBI directions relating to IFSC Banking Units (IBUs).

2. The Task Force (TF) on Offshore Rupee Markets chaired by Smt. Usha Thorat had recommended introduction of non-deliverable Rupee Derivatives in IFSCs in a phased manner, starting with exchange traded currency derivatives (ETCD) to be followed by Over the Counter (OTC) derivatives at a later stage.

3. RBI’s decision to accept the above recommendation and permit Rupee derivatives (with settlement in foreign currency) to be traded in IFSC was announced in para 2 of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory policies issued on October 04, 2019. Accordingly, a new paragraph No.2.6 (xiv), has been added to Annex I and II of the aforesaid circular dated April 1, 2015, which reads as under:

“IBUs are allowed to participate in exchange traded currency derivatives on Rupee (with settlement in foreign currency) listed on stock exchanges set up at IFSCs. Banks shall ensure that their IBUs have necessary expertise to price, value and compute the capital charge and manage the risks associated with the products / transactions intended to be offered and should also obtain their Board’s approval for undertaking such transactions. IBUs shall follow all other risk mitigation and prudential measures as applicable and detailed in this circular while participating in these products. Further, IBUs may also be guided by A.P (DIR Series) Circular No. 17 on “Introduction of Rupee derivatives at International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs)” dated January 20, 2020.”

4. Further, the existing paragraph 2.6(vii) of Annex I and II of the aforesaid circular dated April 01, 2015, is amended by adding the following at the end thereof:

“This is subject to the provisions of paragraph 2.6(xiv).”

5. All other terms and conditions contained in the aforementioned circular remain unchanged.

6. An updated copy of the RBI circular on IBU dated April 01, 2015 incorporating the amendments made hitherto is available on RBI’s website.

Rupee Derivatives

RBI circular dated 20th January, 2020 regarding introduction of rupee derivatives in international financial services centre

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11791&Mode=0

Attention of Authorised Dealers is invited to the Foreign Exchange Management (International Financial Services Centre) Regulations, 2015 (Notification No. FEMA. 339/2015-RB dated 2nd March, 2015).

2. As announced in the statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated October 4, 2019, it has now been decided to allow Rupee derivatives (with settlement in foreign currency) to be traded in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs), starting with Exchange Traded Currency Derivatives(ETCD).

3. Currency futures contracts may be listed on recognised stock exchanges at IFSCs subject to the Currency Futures in International Financial Services Centre (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2020 (Notification No.FMRD.FMD.01/ED(TRS)-2020 dated January 20, 2020), issued by the Reserve Bank of India, a copy of which is annexed (Annex I).

4. Currency options contracts may be listed on recognised stock exchanges at IFSCs subject to the Currency Options in International Financial Services Centre (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2020 (Notification No.FMRD.FMD.02/ED(TRS)-2020 dated January 20, 2020), issued by the Reserve Bank of India, a copy of which is annexed (Annex II).

5. Necessary amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (International Financial Services Centre) Regulations, 2015 (Notification No. FEMA. 339/2015-RB dated 2nd March, 2015) have been notified in the Official Gazette vide Gazette Id no.CG-DL-E-17012020-215530 dated January 16, 2020 a copy of which is annexed (Annex-III).

6. Amendments to Currency Futures (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2008 (Notification No.FED.1/DG(SG) - 2008 dated August 6, 2008), as amended from time to time, and Exchange Traded Currency Options (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2010 (Notification No. FED.01/ED(HRK) - 2010 dated July 30, 2010), as amended from time to time, is annexed as Annex IV & V respectively.

7. The above Directions have been issued under Section 45W of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and the above Regulation have been issued under Section 47 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999).

8. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions /approvals, if any, required under any other law.

reporting of large exposures

RBI circular dated 16th January, 2020 wherein they have streamlined the reporting of large exposures of Primary Urban Co-operative Banks having total assets of Rs.500 crores and above. Exposures to include all fund based, non fund based including investment exposure on the borrower. They have set up a three pronged strategy to report large exposures viz. exposure to large borrowers, reporting of technically/ prudentially written off accounts and reporting of balance in current account.

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11790&Mode=0

We draw your attention to RBI Circular DOR (PCB). BPD.Cir.No.7/13.05.000/2019-20 dated December 27, 2019 on "Reporting of Large Exposures to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) - UCBs". In terms of the instructions, Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) having total assets of ₹500 crore and above as on 31st March of the previous financial year (hereinafter referred to as “banks”) shall report credit information, including classification of an account as Special Mention Account (SMA), on all borrowers having aggregate exposures of ₹5 crore and above with them to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) maintained by the Reserve Bank. Aggregate exposure shall include all fund-based and non-fund based exposure, including investment exposure on the borrower.

2. The operational guidelines for reporting the CRILC– UCBs return are as follows:

i. The reporting frequency of the CRILC– UCBs return is quarterly to start with. The banks need to submit the data on large exposures within 30 days from the end of the quarter through XBRL reporting platform of RBI. Banks may put in place appropriate systems to be in readiness to submit the return on a more frequent periodicity.

ii. CRILC – UCBs return will comprise of three sections viz. Section 1: Exposure to Large Borrowers, Section 2: Reporting of Technically / Prudentially Written-off Accounts and Section 3: Reporting of Balance in Current Account, as below:

1. In Section 1: Exposure to Large Borrowers, the bank needs to report the credit information of all borrowers having aggregate exposures (fund-based, non-fund based and investment exposure) of ₹5 crore and above.
2. In Section 2: Reporting of Technically / Prudentially Written-off Accounts, the bank needs to report the data on the amount written off, if any, for borrowers whose technically/prudentially written off amount is ₹5 crore or more and which are not reported in Section 1.
3. In Section 3: Reporting of balance in Current Account, the bank needs to report the data on Current Account holders whose (i) balance (either credit or debit) in current account as on reporting date is ₹1 crore and above or (ii) total of credit summation (sum of all credit transactions) during the reporting quarter is ₹5 crore and above or (iii) total of debit summation (sum of all debit transactions) during the reporting quarter is ₹5 crore and above.

iii. The detailed instructions for each Section is provided in the CRILC-UCBs return installer (macro enabled excel template).

iv. Banks are advised to take utmost care about data accuracy and integrity while submitting the data on large credits to the Reserve Bank of India, failing which penal action would be undertaken.

3. In the light of DoR instructions referred above and in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 27 (2) read with Section 56 (a)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949(AACS), you are advised to submit the data in CRILC-UCBs return with effect from the quarter ended December 31, 2019. The format of reporting is enclosed.

Hedging Report

RBI circular dated 15th January 2020 stipulating report to RBI in respect of hedging of commodity price risk and freight risk in overseas markets will now be made in XBRL format instead of excel mode as was stipulated earlier.

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11789&Mode=0

Please refer to Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Exchange Derivative Contracts) Regulations, 2000 (Notification No. FEMA 25/RB-2000 dated May 3, 2000), as amended from time to time, and Hedging of Commodity Price Risk and Freight Risk in Overseas Markets (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2018 (issued vide A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 19 dated March 12, 2018).

2. Para 10 of the Directions ibid shall be substituted with following:

“10. Report to Reserve Bank - Banks shall submit a quarterly report to the Chief General Manager, Financial Markets Regulation Department, Reserve Bank of India through Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) accessible at https://xbrl.rbi.org.in/orfsxbrl/ in the format provided in Annexure I. In case of no transactions, a “Nil” report shall be submitted by the bank.”

3. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions /approvals, if any, required under any other law.

security in credit cards

RBI circular dated 15th January, 2020 enhancing security of card transactions

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11788&Mode=0

Over the years, the volume and value of transactions made through cards have increased manifold. To improve user convenience and increase the security of card transactions, it has been decided as under:

a) At the time of issue / re-issue, all cards (physical and virtual) shall be enabled for use only at contact based points of usage [viz. ATMs and Point of Sale (PoS) devices] within India. Issuers shall provide cardholders a facility for enabling card not present (domestic and international) transactions, card present (international) transactions and contactless transactions, as per the process outlined in para 1 (c).

b) For existing cards, issuers may take a decision, based on their risk perception, whether to disable the card not present (domestic and international) transactions, card present (international) transactions and contactless transaction rights. Existing cards which have never been used for online (card not present) / international / contactless transactions shall be mandatorily disabled for this purpose.

c) Additionally, the issuers shall provide to all cardholders:

1. facility to switch on / off and set / modify transaction limits (within the overall card limit, if any, set by the issuer) for all types of transactions – domestic and international, at PoS / ATMs / online transactions / contactless transactions, etc.;
2. the above facility on a 24x7 basis through multiple channels - mobile application / internet banking / ATMs / Interactive Voice Response (IVR); this may also be offered at branches / offices;
3. alerts / information / status, etc., through SMS / e-mail, as and when there is any change in status of the card.

2. The provisions of this circular are not mandatory for prepaid gift cards and those used at mass transit systems.

3. Issuers and card networks may give wide publicity to the provisions of this circular.

4. These directions are issued under Section 10(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007) and shall come into effect from March 16, 2020.

KYC - video verification process

RBI circular dated 9th January, 2020 wherein they have allowed video based customer identification process (CIP) to establish the KYC of the clients being on boarded. Elaborate rules have been laid down for the same purpose, including procedure for carrying out live CIP, software & security audit of the live CIP process, etc. All accounts to be opened under live CIP shall be done only after concurrent audit to ensure robustness of the process.

This is supposed to be ease of doing business, but as we have seen from the past experiences, it becomes anything but that. Increasingly, it is becoming difficult to open a bank a/c inside of 3 weeks from the banks, but yet as we have seen, instances of fraud are being committed by the bank's employees themselves as we have seen in the PNB and PMC Bank fiasco.

RBI circular follows

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11783&Mode=0

Government of India, vide Gazette Notification G.S.R. 582(E) dated August 19, 2019 and Gazette Notification G.S.R. 840(E) dated November 13, 2019, has notified amendment to the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005. Further, with a view to leveraging the digital channels for Customer Identification Process (CIP) by Regulated Entities (REs), the Reserve Bank has decided to permit Video based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) as a consent based alternate method of establishing the customer’s identity, for customer onboarding.

2. The consequent changes carried out in the Master Direction on KYC dated February 25, 2016, with the aforementioned amendments to the PML Rules and V-CIP are as under:

A. Changes due to amendments to the PML Rules

a) “Digital KYC” has been defined in Section 3 as capturing live photo of the customer and officially valid document or the proof of possession of Aadhaar, where offline verification cannot be carried out, along with the latitude and longitude of the location where such live photo is being taken by an authorised officer of the Reporting Entity (RE) as per the provisions contained in the Act. Steps to carry out the Digital KYC process have also been stipulated.

b) “Equivalent e-document” has been defined in Section 3 as an electronic equivalent of a document, issued by the issuing authority of such document with its valid digital signature including documents issued to the digital locker account of the customer as per Rule 9 of the Information Technology (Preservation and Retention of Information by Intermediaries Providing Digital Locker Facilities) Rules, 2016.

c) Section 16 has been amended and accordingly,

I. customer, for the purpose of Customer Due Diligence CDD) process, shall submit:

1. the Aadhaar number where he is desirous of receiving any benefit or subsidy under any scheme notified under section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016); or he decides to submit his Aadhaar number voluntarily to a banking company or any reporting entity notified under first proviso to sub-section (1) of section 11A of the PML Act; or
2. the proof of possession of Aadhaar number where offline verification can be carried out; or
3. the proof of possession of Aadhaar number where offline verification cannot be carried out or
4. any Officially Valid Document (OVD) or the equivalent e-document thereof containing the details of his identity and address; and
5. the Permanent Account Number or the equivalent e-document thereof or Form No. 60 as defined in Income-tax Rules, 1962; and
6. such other documents including in respect of the nature of business and financial status of the client, or the equivalent e-documents thereof as may be required by the RE.

II. Provided that where the customer has submitted

1. Aadhaar number under paragraph (c.I.i) above to a bank or to a RE notified under first proviso to sub-section (1) of section 11A of the PML Act, such bank or RE shall carry out authentication of the customer’s Aadhaar number using e-KYC authentication facility provided by the Unique Identification Authority of India.
2. proof of possession of Aadhaar under clause (c.I.ii) above where offline verification can be carried out, the RE shall carry out offline verification
3. an equivalent e-document of any OVD, the RE shall verify the digital signature as per the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) and any rules issues thereunder and take a live photo as specified under Annex I of the Master Direction.
4. proof of possession of Aadhaar number where offline verification cannot be carried out under clause (c.I.iii) above or any OVD under clause (c.I.iv), the RE shall carry out verification through digital KYC as specified under Annex I of the Master Direction.
   Provided, for a period not beyond such date as may be notified by the Government for a class of REs, instead of carrying out digital KYC, the RE pertaining to such class may obtain a certified copy of the proof of possession of Aadhaar number or the OVD and a recent photograph where an equivalent e-document is not submitted.

III. Equivalent e-document has also been permitted for accounts of non-individual customer.

IV. Where a customer has provided his Aadhaar number under paragraph (c.I.i) above for identification and wants to provide a current address, different from the address as per the identity information available in the Central Identities Data Repository, he may give a self-declaration to that effect to the Regulated Entity.

B. Changes due to introduction of Video based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP)

a) Definition of V-CIP has been inserted in Section 3 of the Master Direction

b) The process of V-CIP has been specified in Section 18 in terms of which, REs may undertake live V-CIP, to be carried out by an official of the RE, for establishment of an account based relationship with an individual customer, after obtaining his informed consent and shall adhere to the following stipulations:

i. The official of the RE performing the V-CIP shall record video as well as capture photograph of the customer present for identification and obtain the identification information as below:

• Banks: can use either OTP based Aadhaar e-KYC authentication or Offline Verification of Aadhaar for identification. Further, services of Business Correspondents (BCs) may be used by banks for aiding the V-CIP.
• REs other than banks: can only carry out Offline Verification of Aadhaar for identification.

ii. RE shall capture a clear image of PAN card to be displayed by the customer during the process, except in cases where e-PAN is provided by the customer. The PAN details shall be verified from the database of the issuing authority.

iii. Live location of the customer (Geotagging) shall be captured to ensure that customer is physically present in India

iv. The official of the RE shall ensure that photograph of the customer in the Aadhaar/PAN details matches with the customer undertaking the V-CIP and the identification details in Aadhaar/PAN shall match with the details provided by the customer.

v. The official of the RE shall ensure that the sequence and/or type of questions during video interactions are varied in order to establish that the interactions are real-time and not pre-recorded.

vi. In case of offline verification of Aadhaar using XML file or Aadhaar Secure QR Code, it shall be ensured that the XML file or QR code generation date is not older than 3 days from the date of carrying out V-CIP.

vii. All accounts opened through V-CIP shall be made operational only after being subject to concurrent audit, to ensure the integrity of process.

viii. RE shall ensure that the process is a seamless, real-time, secured, end-to-end encrypted audiovisual interaction with the customer and the quality of the communication is adequate to allow identification of the customer beyond doubt. RE shall carry out the liveliness check in order to guard against spoofing and such other fraudulent manipulations.

ix. To ensure security, robustness and end to end encryption, the REs shall carry out software and security audit and validation of the V-CIP application before rolling it out.

x. The audiovisual interaction shall be triggered from the domain of the RE itself, and not from third party service provider, if any. The V-CIP process shall be operated by officials specifically trained for this purpose. The activity log along with the credentials of the official performing the V-CIP shall be preserved.

xi. REs shall ensure that the video recording is stored in a safe and secure manner and bears the date and time stamp.

xii. REs are encouraged to take assistance of the latest available technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and face matching technologies, to ensure the integrity of the process as well as the information furnished by the customer. However, the responsibility of customer identification shall rest with the RE.

xiii. RE shall ensure to redact or blackout the Aadhaar number in terms of Section 16.

xiv. BCs can facilitate the process only at the customer end and as already stated in para B(b) above, the official at the other end of V-CIP interaction should necessarily be a bank official. Banks shall maintain the details of the BC assisting the customer, where services of BCs are utilized. The ultimate responsibility for customer due diligence will be with the bank.

3. The Master Direction on KYC dated February 25, 2016, is hereby updated to reflect the above changes and shall come into force with immediate effect.

e-mandate in UPI transactions

RBI circular dated 10th January, 2020 allowing e-mandate recurring transactions to be processed on UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions in the same manner as for cards/ prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) with additional factor authentication.

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11784&Mode=0

Processing of e-mandate in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for recurring transactions

Please refer to our circular DPSS.CO.PD.No.447/02.14.003/2019-20 dated August 21, 2019 on “Processing of e-mandate on cards for recurring transactions” whereby processing of e-mandate on cards / Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) was permitted for recurring transactions (merchant payments), with Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) during e-mandate registration, modification and revocation, as also for the first transaction, and simple / automatic subsequent successive transactions, subject to certain conditions.

2. On a review of the developments since this facilitation, it has been decided to extend the above instructions to cover UPI transactions as well. All the instructions / conditions outlined in the circular under reference would apply, mutatis mutandis, while processing e-mandate in UPI. This is also in line with the measures proposed for furthering digital payments announced vide, the RBI Press Release dated November 8, 2019.

3. This directive is issued under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).

4. This may be brought to the notice of all the members of UPI.