As RBI includes NPR in KYC papers, panic withdrawal starts from Central Bank of India’s branch in Tamil Nadu

Amid nation-wide protests against CAA, NRC and NPR, a decision of Reserve Bank of India caused panic in Central Bank of India’s branch in Thoothukkudi, Tamil Nadu. RBI has included National Population Register (NPR) letter as an officially valid document for Know Your Customer (KYC) verification for bank account opening or applying for credit cards.

The Central Bank branch in Tamil Nadu put out an advertisement on January 11 that asked for submission of National Population Registry letter as part of its Know Your Customer or KYC as mandatory. This was done following the RBI decision.

As the bank put out the advertisement, hundreds of customers in Kayalpattinam village reached CBI bank branch to withdraw their money.

Around ₹4.5 crore cash, large deposits in savings accounts have been withdrawn amid panic over RBI decision from the Kayalpattinam branch of the Central Bank of India in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin district since Saturday.

According to the Indian Express, R L Nayak, assistant general manager handling public relations for Central Bank of India said, what happened at Kayalpattinam was unfortunate. “People must have mistaken…If someone has an Aadhaar card, that is enough for KYC…If one has a PAN card, we will ask for a second document for address proof. So normally we collect two documents from those who do not have Aadhaar. The number of documents usually considered for KYC verification is half a dozen, including PAN card, passport, voter identity card, driving licence, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act card and Aadhaar. After RBI included NPR letter in the list recently, we had to add it in our advertisement as we cannot deny that in case someone comes with an NPR letter,” he said.

Earlier on January 15, objecting to Central Bank of India listing a letter from National Population Register (NPR) as one of the identity proof documents for 'Know Your Customer' norms, the MMK party in Tamil Nadu had called for the boycott of the bank.

Similary, the leader of a major union in the banking sector said the existing KYC norms are sufficient and Central Bank should withdraw its stipulation.

The leader of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) M.H. Jawahirullah in a statement said the Central Bank with "mischievous intention" has listed the NPR letter as an identity proof for KYC in its advertisements.