Sufferer Pragya Prasun has been denied a new bank account because a KYC machine could not scan her complete biometric details due to her inability to blink.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — An acid attack survivor has been denied a new bank account because a KYC machine could not scan her complete biometric details due to her inability to blink.
KYC (Know Your Customer) check is the mandatory process of identifying and verifying the bank client’s identity when opening an account and periodically over time.
The victim, Pragya Prasun, has sought the help of actor Shah Rukh Khan and his NGO. Last week, she tweeted her ordeal and said it was ‘unjust’ that she could not open an account after a KYC machine could not scan her complete biometric details because of her inability to blink. Shah Rukh is yet to respond to her request, a report in Hindustan Times said.
Pragya said in a statement, “It’s my right too to be able to open a bank account.” Her tweet tagged Shah Rukh and his Meer Foundation, a philanthropic institution named after Shah Rukh’s late father Meer Taj Mohammed Khan. The foundation works towards rehabilitating acid attack survivors and also funds corrective surgeries. “Being an acid attack survivor should not prohibit me from living a life with dignity,” she said.
She further said in her tweet, “It’s unjust that I was denied a bank account just because I can’t blink for the KYC process. Requesting @iamsrk @MeerFoundation to help me make this world inclusive for all acid attack survivors.” She added the hashtag ‘I won’t blink’ to her tweet.
Pragya has also filed an online petition highlighting the plight of acid attack survivors like her, who are denied access to important services such as opening a bank account just because the facial recognition software has its limitations.
Pragya drew attention in her petition to the challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of people with facial disfigurements or eye problems that prevent them from being able to blink their eyes. This, she pointed out, should not deny them economic equity and the right to open a bank account in their own name.
She also urged the CEO of ICICI Bank to reconsider this policy and provide easy and swift alternative methods for individuals, who cannot blink their eyes to open a bank account.