RBI Removes Restrictions on Bank of Baroda's Mobile App Customer Onboarding
In a move sure to please customers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has removed restrictions previously imposed on state-run lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) regarding new registrations on their popular mobile banking application. The central bank had directed the bank to suspend adding new users to the ‘bob World' app last year due to concerns over irregularities in the onboarding process.
In a filing with stock exchanges yesterday, BoB informed that the RBI has now lifted this ban after reviewing the matter. The lender will be able to sign up fresh customers through bob World going forward, following applicable guidelines. This development will allow the bank to further expand the reach and benefits of its digital banking platform.
The restrictions were put in place in October after reports that some employees had improperly linked unrelated bank accounts and phone numbers when registering app users, with the aim of artificially inflating registration figures. This caused supervision issues that the RBI acted upon.
Prior to the RBI's intervention, bob World was adding close to 8 million financial and non-financial transactions daily. This number had declined slightly to around 7 million per day after the onboarding suspension as per BoB's last quarterly statement.
With customer sign-ups now permitted once more, the bank will hope to boost activity levels on its mobile app while providing convenient access to financial services on phones. The quick resolution of the matter also underlines regulatory oversight as well as the cooperative relationship between the RBI and BoB. Customers stand to benefit from the resumption of smooth digital operations.
