The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has introduced an advanced mode of bank account verification of subscribers through PAN-PRAN-VPA (UPI).
“As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) and to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence, PFRDA is pleased to introduce an advanced mode of Bank Acct Verification of the Subscribers (PAN-PRAN- VPA(UPI)) with elegant features where the joint holder details, PAN and UPI Ids are verified through NPCI and matched with Permanent Retirement Acct Number (PRAN),” the pension regulator said in a circular today January 12, 2023).
The PAN-PRAN-VPA(UPI) feature is currently offered by CAMS CRA for its associated subscribers. The regulator has encouraged all CRAs and other intermediaries to integrate the digital journey of subscribers with emerging technology like PAN-PRAN- VPA(UPI) verification provided by NPCI.
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PAN-PRAN-VPA (UPI) verification benefits
Following are some indicative benefits, according to the regulator
- Eliminate errors in payout process.
- Successful and timely processing of withdrawal request of subscriber who is the joint holder in Bank Account.
- Binary and simplified NPCI’s response viz Active/Inactive simplifies the due diligence
process vis a vis the earlier penny-drop framework which is dependent on fuzzy logic of name matching. - Matching of PAN seeded in PRAN and Bank Account
How it will work
Users’ PAN along with account number and IFSC will be sent to NPCI to check if the account number is linked with PAN in the bank. If the account number and PAN are linked to the bank then NPCI will provide the return response as Y along with the account holder’s name in the bank. It will also return the UPI ID, account type and status of the bank account. In case the account number and PAN are not linked in the bank, then NPCI will provide the return response as N.
“As this process returns value in binary (active/inactive), it is powerful than the penny-drop process which is dependent on fuzzy logic of name matching,” said PFRDA.
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Currently, Mutual Funds, Insurance Industry and NBFCs are extensively using the facility for onboarding and change of Bank mandates. This facility is also used by Mutual Funds to verify third-party investments.