Aadhaar-based e-KYC to boost user adds for telcos: Experts

A recent ordinance allowing voluntary Aadhaar-based digital verification is likely to speed up customer adds for the Big 3 telcos, especially in the rural markets, and reduce user acquisition costs, analysts and industry executives said.

Aadhaar, they said, would be a simpler and more foolproof authentication mechanism than the one using QR codes to verify IDs of new users before selling mobile connections, especially in rural markets.

“Aadhaar-based customer verification will boost customer acquisitions for big telcos, particularly in rural markets where bulk of the new customer adds are happening now,” Hetal Gandhi, director (research) at Crisil India, told ET.