It's mandatory now! How to link your bank accounts to Aadhaar

The central government has made it mandatory to link Aadhaar numbers to all bank accounts, failing which, access to the bank accounts will be disabled after December 31, 2017. In other words,  Aadhaar-less bank accounts will be frozen after December this year.

Up until now, PAN card was required as a document to open a bank account, or for any transactions above Rs 50,000 but from June 1, the Aadhaar number has been made mandatory for opening a bank account. Secondly, if a person does not have an Aadhaar number at the time of opening of account, the individual has to furnish proof of application for enrollment in Aadhaar and submit the number to the bank within six months of opening the account. 

So how can you link your Aadhaar number with your bank account?

Linking your Aadhaar number with your bank account is very easy. It can be done through net banking, SMS, at the branch or through a business correspondent (BC). To link it through net banking, all you have to do is log into your bank account, click on the link that says “Aadhaar Seeding Option’’ and enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number. A screen pops up showing the transaction number and how many days it will take for the transaction to be complete. When it is done, you get an alert from your bank saying it is complete. 

For linking through SMS, you have to send an SMS to your bank, (check the number on the website) with your Aadhaar number and account number. Once it is linked, you will get an SMS alert saying linking had been done. 

For linking it through the bank branch or BC, you will have to provide a photocopy of your Aadhaar card. Some banks also provide linking through the ATM, so that is another option.