The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on 20th July 2021 has announced a new facility for instant verification of bank accounts for enhanced due diligence and to ensure timely credit of National Pension System (NPS) funds after withdrawal by eligible subscribers from the scheme.
The Instant Bank Account Verification by ‘penny drop’ would be adopted by Central Record-Keeping System (CRA), by integrating their IT system and exit framework with the Fin-tech service providers.
Through ‘penny drop’ process, CRAs would check the active status of Savings Bank Account (SBA) and match the name in bank account number with the name in PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) or as per the documents submitted. The validity of account is verified by making a ‘test transaction’ by penny dropping a specified amount into the beneficiary’s SBA and matching the name based on the penny drop response.
CRAs may suitably alert the Subscriber that he/she should not modify/close the existing bank account once the exit /withdrawal request is captured and till the time it is authorized by the nodal office/POP and amount credited to the account.
