The KYC Information that was simple in our times and not complex

Social media wants the KYC information from you — **Data is the new Oil**

Data, a four-letter word is getting everybody’s attention these days. It seems the whole world is after your data from Google to Flipkart to Amazon. You download an app and the first thing you must share is your data. It seems that companies are more interested in your KYC (know your customer) information than you.

Companies use the KYC information to micro-target ads based on your needs. You are surfing for a mobile phone and suddenly your Facebook page will throw hundreds of options for mobiles. If you are looking for a microwave on Amazon your social media page will be full of LG, Whirlpool, Samsung microwave ads.

The Indian Banks to a great extent are the ones who had popularized the term KYC. If you are opening a bank account you need to fill in the KYC information first. There are times when you urgently need to transfer funds but can’t as the bank site will ask you to update the KYC information at the nearest centre.

If the Indian banks had used the KYC information properly they could have avoided the bad debts. As a result, the government could have been saved from pumping tax-payers money into their balance sheet to keep them afloat. More than the KYC information the banks need to know the KYE information i.e. Know your employees. It’s these employees who were responsible for lending to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

The KYC Information that everybody is interested in today – Know Your Covid count

It seems the whole world wants your KYC information — **I am tired of reading Covid news**

Unfortunately, in current times every person is just interested in knowing more about Covid. They are seeking information on symptoms of Covid and whether to get a test done or not? Even a slight cold or cough is creating a fear that one is suffering from Covid.

The KYC information of our times was simple

Let me take you some 30-35 years back when life was simple and nobody was after your life for your information. Information existed even during those days but it was not the KYC kind of information. It was simple information that made life more enjoyable. But with limited resources getting even simple information was not that easy and one had to make a lot of effort to get it.

For boys, the KYC meant Know Your Cute looking neighbor

Boys were interested in the cute looking girl — **Getting the telephone number of next door neighbour was a challenge**

Young boys needed simple data about their cute looking neighbour. The KYC information they needed to know was the telephone number of the girl. What time does she leaves for college and what time she is back? Also, the time when she goes out for tuition as well as to the local market? Whether the girl had an elder brother or a younger one? Things were simple if she had a younger brother but difficult if the brother was a college-going.

A boy proposing to a girl — **Can I take you out for a Coffee**

To get the KYC information about the girl the boy needed to surf all the friends of the girl and target the one closest to her. They used to befriend the best friend and obtained the girl’s telephone number and other details from her.

For girls, the KYC meant Know Your Career-minded future husband

Girls dream of a smart and handsome husband — **I hope to get a handsome husband like him**

Young girls were interested in information like whether the guy had a motorcycle or a car. How many sisters he had? Whether his mother was still alive or not? Is he serious about marriage? Preference was given to boys who were Class 1 officers in the government or had a high paying job in the private sector. The deal clincher was if the boy and his parents owned a house.

Aunts playing cupid between couples — **This guy will be a good match for my niece**

In days when there was no Bharat matrimony, Jeevansaathi or Shaadi.com the information about a prospective boy was provided by the girl’s aunt. The aunt in this case was either her Bua (paternal aunt) or Mausi (maternal aunt). The aunt had tremendous networking skills and would recommend a whole list of names. The only problem with aunt’s recommendation was that they focused more on the boy’s qualification rather than his looks.

For parents, the KYC information meant – Know Your Child’s report card

The KYC document that parents needed to find out how their kid was doing in school was his report card. If the kid stood in the top 10 ranks in the class then there was nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if he was at the bottom of the list then the father would take the challenge on himself.

The report card was used for KYC Information — **From now onwards you will study in the evenings**

Playtime was cut down and study time was increased. Kid’s circle of friends was studied in-depth and he was allowed to play in the company of studious ones. The naughty ones were shunned from his list. In absence of tuition culture, the father himself became a tutor though it came with a package of physical punishment. The foot-ruler was not only used to measure the distance between two points but also the distance between common sense and dumbness.

Mother used to control the house with her KYC skills – Know Your Commands

Mother planning for groceries for the month — **I think I can manage the grocery bill this month**

Mothers were responsible for giving directions to the entire house from husband to kids. From doing the daily chores to packing tiffin for the entire family, mom’s were excellent in managing the entire household. She used her KYC skills or Know Your Cooking skills to make excellent dishes at home, the taste that still lingers on your taste-buds.

To run the house on a day-to-day basis she needed a lot of information. It ranged from the price of milk and vegetables to the monthly grocery quantity to the ingredients required for making exotic dishes. Her command skills helped in getting the work done by maids daily from cleaning the house to washing utensils and clothes. She knew how much detergent was needed for the entire month as well as how much salary to be paid to maids.

Father excelled in KYC – Know Your Credit Limit

Dad planning his expenses — **How will I manage the Housing EMI this month**

Fathers were responsible for meeting the day to day expenses of the household. They needed a lot of information for meeting the KYC or the credit limit. Monthly grocery bill, house rent, electricity and water charges, school fees, medical emergencies, etc.

He also had to plan for long-term expenses like buying a house or saving for a daughter’s marriage or kid’s higher education. This required information to predict the expenses in the future and save accordingly.

The only good thing about the KYC information that every family member needed was for their individual need and not for a commercial purpose. Alas, things have changed today.

Read more such interesting stories on my blog. Click on the following link:

The last week of the Month – the days of Bankruptcy

Salary and Expenses:Two sides of the same coin

For updating your Aadhar details you can click on the following link:

https://uidai.gov.in/aadhaar_dashboard/ekyc_trend.php