If you’re about to apply for a personal loan, one of the easiest ways to get a fast approval is to ensure you’ve submitted all the correct documents required by the lender. Submitting documents to a bank or other non-banking financial institution (NBFC) is mandatory process known as KYC.
First introduced by the RBI in 2002, KYC or Know Your Customer, is a basic formality that requires a customer to submit certain identification details for verification purposes. This helps to counteract financial fraud and curb illegal activities. The primary objective of KYC is to verify a potential customer’s identity and ensure they don’t operate under a false or stolen identity.
Until a potential customer’s KYC documents are provided and verified by the financial institution or NBFC, they won’t be allowed to avail any of the latter’s services. When it comes to taking a personal loan in India, lenders will require common KYC documents such as PAN card, Aadhar card, or passport, in addition to an address proof such as a utility bill.
Both salaried and self-employed individuals have to submit a set of KYC documents when they apply for loan. However, most lenders tend to be wary when it comes to lending to self-employed individuals, since they have a higher chance of defaulting on repayment. Therefore, self-employed individuals are required to submit additional documents about their business, in order for the lender to assess the level of credit risk the individual carries.
Below, we’ll discuss what are the common documents required for personal loans, for both salaried and self-employed people.
Documents Required for Salaried Individuals
Salaried individuals will require to submit usually one KYC document per category with their loan application:
- One passport size colour photograph
- Address Proof: Aadhaar card, Passport, Utility Bill, or Ration card
- Photo Identity Proof: Passport, PAN card, Aadhaar card, Driver’s License, or Voter ID card
- Salary Proof: Last 3-6 months’ bank statements, salary slips, and Form 16
- Job Continuity Proof: Employment contract/job offer letter, or letter from HR department
Documents Required for Self Employed Professionals
Below are the documents required for both self-employed professional applicants, as well as non-professional self-employed applicants. They include most of the documents required by salaried employees, as well as a few additional ones that verify one’s business proof and ownership:
- One passport size colour photograph
- Address Proof: Aadhaar card, Passport, Utility Bill, or Ration card
- Photo Identity Proof: Passport, PAN card, Aadhaar card, Driver’s License, or Voter ID card
- Proof of Age: Passport, PAN card, Driver’s License, or Voter ID card
- Business Existence Proof: Last 3 years’ salary statement, or Shop Establishment certification
- Business Ownership Proof: Property Documents, utility bill, or maintenance bill
- Office Address/Ownership Proof: Property Documents or electricity bill
- Income Proof: Last 2 – 3 years’ Income Tax Return, and 2 – 3 years’ savings and current account bank statements.
Documents Required for a Personal Loan from Upwards
At Upwards, our personal loan application process is completely digital- that means no tedious paperwork or excessive documents! With only 4 mandatory KYC documents required, you can get your loan approved within 24 hours and the money in your bank account in under two days. To find out your personal loan eligibility, click here!
Here are the documents required for a personal loan from Upwards:
1.PAN Card
PAN card is one of the most important documents required by any lender, since it can verify your income tax details. In our KYC process, PAN card is only required, without the need of submitting Form 16 as well.
2. Aadhar Card
Aadhaar provides a specific identity to each individual by the UIDAI, and is another important document for availing any financial service. Aadhaar serves as your address proof in Upwards’ loan application process, which further reduces the need of other documents proofs.
3.Salary Slips
An employee’s salary slip shows the legitimate breakup between the in-hand salary and other financial incentives provided to the loan applicant. Salary slips are also a proof of the employer’s details. Employers are required to submit salary slips, but if you don’t get one, you can also request it from your HR department.
4.Bank Statements
Bank statements prove that your salary is being credited to your bank account every month. When you provide 3-6 months’ statements in your applicant, it shows to the lender that your income is both continuous and stable, which in turn proves one’s job and personal stability.
Mistakes to Avoid When Providing Documents for a Personal Loan
One of the reasons why lenders will automatically reject loan applications is because incomplete or incorrect documents have been submitted. Another common mistake that applicants make is via online/digital KYC processes is uploading unclear photocopies documents, and uploading their documents in the wrong places of the application form.
At Upwards, at least 25% of loans get rejected automatically due to the applicant submitting incorrect or incomplete documents in their application form. This is a common oversight that can easily be prevented by the applicant and ensure their loan application has a higher probability of approval. Moreover, once an applicant is rejected, there is usually a waiting period of 3 months until they can reapply for the loan at the firm.
Prevent these mistakes by ensuring you submit the correct documents required, and ensure they are uploaded in the appropriate place. This makes the process easy for the person checking your application, which in turn will speed up the verification process and give you a much quicker approval.
Conclusion
There’s no escape from KYCs in the world of finance and banking operation, whether it’s applying for a loan, using internet banking services or a mobile wallet. Since KYC evicts many barriers between a lender and its customers in regards to transparency terms, it actually benefits both parties by reducing chances of financial frauds.
In case an individual desires to avail any financial services, it is really important to let the authorities know your original identity and provide all the supporting valid documents. Being KYC-compliant will also increase your personal loan eligibility as an individual.