RBI Adds to List of Valid Documents for Opening Bank Account

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday extended the list of documents which can be considered as Officially Valid Documents (OVDs) for opening a bank account.

Providing additional relaxations for the purpose of proof of address in addition to the relaxations in proof of identity under ‘simplified measures'.

The following additional documents are deemed as valid documents:

Utility bill which is not more than two months old of any service provider (electricity, telephone, postpaid mobile phone, piped gas, water bill).

a. Property or Municipal Tax receipt

b. Bank account or Post Office savings bank account statement

c. Pension or family pension payment orders (PPOs) issued to retired employees by Government Departments or Public Sector Undertakings, if they contain the address

d. Letter of allotment of accommodation from employer issued by State or Central Government departments, statutory or regulatory bodies, public sector undertakings, scheduled commercial banks, financial institutions and listed companies.

Similarly, leave and license agreements with such employers allotting official accommodation

e. Documents issued by Government departments of foreign jurisdictions and letter issued by Foreign Embassy or Mission in India.

Last year, RBI had said that only passport, driving licence, PAN Card, Voter's Identity Card, Aadhaar number were to be considered OVDs for proof.

Banks were also advised to revise KYC policy in the light of the above instructions and ensure strict adherence to the same.

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