NRI Banking - How to Use Your US Cell Phone To Receive OTP

A one-time password (OTP) is an automatically generated dynamic numeric or alphanumeric string of characters that authenticates a transaction or login session. In most instances, they become invalid in minutes, which also prevents hackers from obtaining sensitive information.

OTP In NRI Banking

OTP in NRI (Non-Resident Indian) Banking has been introduced as an additional security feature to protect bank accounts from fraud. Generally, OTP is a numeric six-digit numeric code sent to the mobile number registered with the Indian Bank.

How To Use Your U.S. Number To Receive An OTP?

OTP authentication is required for every transaction. You will be asked to enter OTP while using NRI Banking or when sending money from India.

NRIs managing funds both in India and abroad should look at having two different types of bank accounts in India: an NRE (Non-Resident External) account and an NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary) account. More on the difference between an NRE and NRO account.

The easiest way to continue receiving OTPs for NRI banking while you are abroad is to change all your existing domestic accounts to an NRI account - NRO/NRE Savings accounts and link your International number in this case your U.S. number.

Are There Any Charges To Receive OTP On An international Mobile Number?

Most banks such as ICICI Bank do not levy any service charges for OTP on International Mobile numbers.

How To Use Your Indian Number Abroad To Receive OTP

You can activate a basic roaming plan for your Indian number to continue receiving OTP while you are abroad. Telecom companies do not typically charge for unanswered incoming calls and SMS (short message service). We recommend checking with your service provider to confirm.

Can NRIs Verify SIM Cards Without Aadhaar Cards?

The Department of Telecommunication does not require NRIs including Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders to verify their India-based Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). It is possible to verify SIM Cards without Aadhaar cards.

OTPs are considered to be significantly more secure than a static password compared to a user-created password, which can be weak and reused across multiple accounts. It can be cumbersome but OTPs are for a good trade-off between convenience and security for NRI banking.