Opening a Small Account with Bank

To open a bank account in the name of an individual, certain identity and address proof documents must be submitted as per

Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. The Government of India has notified six documents as ‘Officially Valid Documents’ (OVDs) for the purpose of producing proof of identity. These six documents are Passport, Driving Licence, Voters’ Identity Card, PAN Card, Aadhaar Card issued by UIDAI and NREGA Job Card. You can submit any one of these documents as proof of identity. If the document also contain your address details, then it would also be accepted as ‘proof of address’. However, any person who does not possess any of the above six documents, but still wishes to open a bank account, can open a "Small Account" with any of the Indian Banks.

Small Account - Bank Account in India

Those who do not posses a valid identity or address proof, can still open a bank account known as ‘Small Account’ by submitting recent photograph and signature or thumb impression in the presence of the bank official. Thus, opening of a Small Account does not require any identity or address proof documents.

Limitation of Small Account

However, small accounts have various limitations associated with the account as follows:

Balance in a small account at any point of time should not exceed Rs.50,000
Total withdrawal and transfers in a month should not exceed Rs.10,000
Foreign remittances cannot be credited to a small account
Total credits in one year should not exceed Rs.1,00,000

Small accounts remain operational initially for a period of twelve months and thereafter, for a further period of twelve months if the holder of such an account provides evidence to the bank of having applied for any of the officially valid documents within twelve months of the opening of such account.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Small Account.

A Small Account is a type of bank account that can be opened without providing any officially valid identity or address proof documents. It is intended for individuals who do not possess any of the six prescribed documents for opening a regular bank account.

To open a Small Account, you only need to submit a recent photograph and provide your signature or thumb impression in the presence of a bank official. No other identity or address proof documents are required.

The main limitations of a Small Account include a maximum balance limit of Rs. 50,000, a monthly withdrawal and transfer limit of Rs. 10,000, no foreign remittances can be credited, and the total annual credits should not exceed Rs. 1,00,000.

A Small Account is initially operational for a period of twelve months. It can be extended for another twelve months if the account holder provides evidence of having applied for any of the officially valid documents within the first twelve months.

Yes, a Small Account can be converted to a regular bank account if the account holder submits one of the six officially valid documents for identity and address proof at a later stage.

While the article does not specifically mention restrictions on transaction types, the limitations on maximum balance, monthly withdrawals and transfers, and annual credits suggest that a Small Account may have restricted functionality compared to a regular bank account.

The article focuses on Small Accounts for individuals who do not possess valid identity or address proof documents. It does not mention the eligibility criteria for businesses or organizations to open a Small Account.

The article does not provide information about fees or charges related to opening or maintaining a Small Account. Banks may have their own policies regarding fees for different types of accounts.

Yes, the article states that a Small Account can be opened with any of the Indian Banks, provided the individual does not possess any of the six officially valid documents.

The article does not explicitly mention the consequences if the account holder fails to provide valid identity or address proof documents within the extended twelve-month period after the initial twelve months of the Small Account's validity.