Now, open an NPS account online

Opening a National Pension System (NPS) account just got easier. You don’t need to go to a designated point-of-presence or a bank anymore to open an account. An online process for the same has been facilitated recently by the PFRDA. The eNPS facility was launched last year on a pilot basis, but in February this year it was made open to all. Now you can instantly open an NPS account online through the NSDL website. The eNPS platform supports the registration of only Tier I or Tier I & Tier II accounts. (Click here to understand the differences between NPS accounts.) Along with this, it also allows you to make subsequent contributions to your existing NPS account.

Process to open NPS account online

The Know Your Customer (KYC) norms are applicable if you want to open an NPS account online as well. You either need to have your PAN and a bank-based KYC or you can have your Aadhar card-based eKYC done. Either of the two are allowed and accepted. Apart from that, you need to have net banking facility with any of the empanelled banks, an email ID and a mobile phone number.

The following is a list of the empanelled banks

You will need to scan and upload your photograph if your verification is not done through Aadhar. A signature has to be scanned and uploaded no matter what KYC format you select. Once you have filled the mandatory details online, you will need to make an online payment of a minimum of Rs 500 to open your NPS account. However, the process isn’t entirely online. You need to download the NPS, print it and send it to CRA within 3 months. Nonetheless, the online process is much easier than the offline process to open an NPS account.