Kotak Mahindra Bank launches ‘Kotak Now’ – to open bank account via mobile

end-to-end digital account opening, including wet signature and KYC verification

Kotak Mahindra Bank today announced the launch of ‘Kotak Now’ – India’s first truly digital account opening process on mobile. ‘Kotak Now’ is an end-to-end digital process where verification of KYC documents and signature is done via a video call with the bank. This is a complete end-to-end online account opening experience, without any need of physical interaction or biometric verification. The entire process is 100% paperless.

The account opening process is simple, and takes only a few minutes. Once the Kotak Now app is downloaded, the prospective customer can upload KYC documents (PAN card, and either Aadhar Card or Passport), and the image of the signature. Thereafter, on entering a few personal details, the Customer Relationship Number (CRN) and Account Number is generated. The app automatically selects a branch closest to the customer’s address for correspondence. The account is activated, after a video call with a bank executive.

‘Kotak Now’ is in sync with Honourable Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India’. India is on the verge of a telecom transformation as 4G speed becomes a reality for the country’s average household. High speed data connectivity will also revolutionise banking transactions and open new vistas of innovation. While majority of banking transactions have already gone digital, ‘Kotak Now’ aims to completely digitise banking by offering paperless account opening via mobile.

Deepak Sharma, Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “About 50% of all transactions in the last few years have moved to digital channels like net banking and mobile banking. Additionally, most services are now being made available on-the-move to customers via these platforms. However, the account opening experience for Indian consumers was still a challenge, and has thus far required high level of manual effort from their end. ‘Kotak Now’ is in-line with our mobile first approach and is a path-breaking step in making banking truly digital.”

Kotak has played a pioneer’s role in the digital banking space. ‘Kotak Now’ is yet another addition to Kotak’s long list of innovative digital initiatives. In March 2014, Kotak launched ‘Jifi’, the first-of-its-kind social bank account that combines the power of social media with conventional banking. It was also the first bank in the world to offer Hashtag Banking, whereby customers can bank via Twitter. This was followed by ‘Kaypay’ – the world’s first bank agnostic instant funds transfer platform using Facebook and Social Commerce, which integrates social media banking with e-commerce. In June 2015, Kotak launched ‘Kotak Bharat’, a multi-lingual mobile banking app which requires no internet connectivity.

‘Kotak Now’, developed with the patented technology of Germany-based WebID Solutions, reduces the time involved in opening a bank account and also ensures data security.

Currently, ‘Kotak Now’ enables customers to open a Jifi account through this process. Other savings account variants will be introduced in a phased manner. ‘Kotak Now’ can be downloaded from Google Play Store