Private lender ICICI Bank has launched a new digital service that will enable the bank’s customers to open instant Public Provident Fund (PPF) accounts online using Aadhaar e-KYC.
PPF is a fixed income instrument that can help the users in attaining long-term goals. PPF is best suited for all types of portfolios as the returns are better in comparison to other counterparts namely fixed deposit.
Few years ago only a few institutions namely post offices and two nationalised banks —State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank—offered services to open PPF accounts.
But over the years this platform developed and expanded exponentially. Besides other nationalised banks, some private banks have also started offering this service.
Earlier the users had to visit the financial institution to avail these services but now it can be opened easily via online platform.
As per the existing format, the facility of opening the PPF account online was merely limited to filing the application form. The applicant had to print the form and submit it to a bank branch along with KYC documents.
“With the new facility, customers of the bank are no longer required to visit a branch and submit physical documents to open a PPF account,” said ICICI Bank.
