Availability of a unique customer identification code (UCIC) will help banks to identify a customer, track the facilities availed, monitor financial transactions in various accounts, improve risk profiling, take a holistic view of customer profile and smoothen banking operations for the customer. While some of the Indian banks have already developed UCIC, there is no unique number to identify a single customer across the organisation in many banks. In this regard, the Government of India has already initiated some measures as a working group constituted by them has proposed the introduction of unique identifiers for customers across different banks and financial institutions. While such a system for the entire financial system is desirable, it is likely to take quite some time for a complete roll out. As a first step, banks are advised:
- to initiate steps to allot UCIC number to all their customers while entering into any new relationships in the case of all individual customers to begin with. Similarly, existing individual customers may also be allotted unique customer identification code by end-April 2013.
Detailed guidelines in this regard will be issued separately.
Extract from Monetary Policy Statement 2012-13 by Dr. D. Subbarao, RBI Governor on 17.04.2012
