Aadhaar Based eKYC

The Unique Identification Authority of India offers e-KYC (electronic-Know Your Customer) based on Aadhaar Card. This can be used by Aadhaar holders to establish and authenticate their identity on their consent. The e-KYC or Electronic Know Your Customer allows authentication of a resident Indian. Thus, resident Indians can use it for banking companies for services such as a bank account, fixed deposit, loan, investment, etc. as an address proof electronically.

If an individual has done the Aadhaar based e-KYC then he/she need not physically submit their Aadhaar Card, but electronically pass the information to the concerned institution. The existing system by the UIDAI has provisions for Aadhaar authentication and verification offline and online through e-KYC.

Services for Aadhaar Authentication and e-KYC

The authentication process of Aadhaar based e-KYC means the procedure by which demographic information, biometric information of Aadhaar, its number, along with information of the card holder is submitted to the CIDR (Central Identities Data Depository). This is done for verification of information that verifies its correctness. The purpose for authentication is to allow the residents to provide a proof of identity to banking companies or a service provider to supply services and access to its benefits.

Benefits of Aadhaar e-KYC/Authentication Services

Below-mentioned are the advantages of Aadhaar Card authentication and e-KYC services:

• The online e-KYC allows for instant authentication and verification. This helps to speed up the KYC process.
• It is a secure and safe method of sharing confidential information with the KUA (KYC user agency).
• As the procedure is online, the costs associated with manual and paper-based verification, reduce.
• Security and privacy of the data is assured as the information is shared through the internal encrypted software of UIDAI.

Aadhaar Offline e-KYC

Aadhaar paperless offline e-KYC does away with the requirement for the resident to submit photo copy of the Aadhaar letter. Rather, the resident can download the KYC XML and submit it to the agency or institution he/she has to provide the KYC proof. The details of KYC are in the machine-readable XML. This is signed digitally by the UIDAI. It allows the institution to verify the authenticity of details. It can thereby also detect tampering, if any. The institution can also authenticate the resident or user through Face/OTP authentication procedure.

Data Present in the Aadhaar Offline e-KYC

When downloading the offline e-KYC Aadhaar Card data, the following fields are present in the XML:

• Name of the resident
• Address
• Download reference number
• Gender
• Year of Birth and Date of Birth
• Photo
• Email in hashed formr
• Mobile number in hashed form

Through a ‘Share Phrase’, the data of Aadhaar paperless offline e-KYC is encrypted. At the time of downloading, the Share Phrase is provided to the Aadhaar number holder. This information has to be shared with institutions to read the data of KYC.

Working of the Aadhaar Offline e-KYC

As a card holder, the offline e-KYC process ensures a convenient and quick way to provide KYC information for authentication purpose. You can download the KYC’s XML file and submit it to the relevant institution or agency. The UIDAI verifies the XML and is tamper-proof. Thus, the data shared is further secured and safe.

Benefits of Aadhaar Offline e-KYC

The advantages of Aadhaar e-KYC offline are mentioned below:

• Biometric information is not needed for the verification of the shared data.
• The UIDAI master database passes the e-KYC information. Thus, the information submitted is tamper-proof and as per the government records.
• It is easy to directly share the KYC information of the card holder without the need for sending repeated requests for access to UIDAI.
• The information shared with the KUA is relevant to the Aadhaar card holder’s KYC requirements. This is done through a secured system ensuring privacy.
• Access to biometrics and personal sensitive information is restricted.
• The dare shared with KUA is encrypted. It prevents the chance of misuse of the card holder’s information.
• This is a voluntary service. It means that the Aadhaar holder can decide whether he/she wishes to share the KYC details via this system or not.
• When the KUA requests for KYC data, the Aadhaar number of the user is not shared. Rather a reference ID is generated. This ID is used to complete the process. The secured system ensures protection of sensitive data.

Access to Aadhaar Paperless e-KYC

If a person already has an Aadhaar card, he/she can access the paperless e-KYC data as per the below-given steps:

• Visit https://uidai.gov.in/ to download the Aadhaar paperless offline e-KYC form.
• Provide details in the form as asked and submit it.
• You will get the information in a downloadable XML file. This file will be signed digitally by the UIDAI.

Steps to Share the Aadhaar Offline e-KYC Data

After downloading the offline e-KYC date, the card holder can share the same with the institution either digitally or physically. To share high resolution copies, it is best to share the data through a PDF or XML file. The ‘Share Phrase’ should be submitted to the institution at this time so that the data is encrypted.