Bank account number portability is now possible: RBI

RBI has taken a step further to make the life of bank customers easier and comfortable. Reserve Bank of India has announced that now bank customers need not change their account numbers if they want to switch over to another bank.

Bank account number portability is similar to the mobile number portability in the telecom sector, where customers can shift from one operator to another without changing their mobile numbers. Now, in the banking sector also, a customer can easily switch to another bank with the same account number without losing any transaction details, if the customer is not satisfied with the existing bank.

On Tuesday, Reserve Bank of India said, “With increase in Aadhaar enrolment and technology advancements, banks and stakeholders must start thinking and prepare for bank account number portability to be made into reality”

Aadhaar (unique identification of customer) and NPCI (as central payment system) are the two important keys for making the banking account number portability possible.

If the bank account is linked to Aadhaar, Aadhaar payment bridge system (APBS) can make it possible to identify one specific bank account as it can route transactions to an individual on the basis of their Aadhaar number. If this idea succeeds, India will be the first country which will adopt this system.