Banks keep a watch on deposits

Rajahmundry: Banks have heightened vigil over cash deposits and withdrawals in the poll season, and any suspicious transaction of over Rs 1 lakh would be reported to the Election Commission. But the transfer of small amounts of money through e-wallets may be difficult to track.

As both the ruling Telugu Desam and the opposition YSRC are vying with each other in luring the voters by offering money ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 for each voter.

According to sources, a section of contestants is looking at e-wallets and payment banks as options to transfer money. The money can be transferred from e-wallet to e-wallet or payment bank to  payment bank and even vice versa, and candidates feel that they can use this feature to escape the monitoring of their transaction.

Banking experts feel that the transfer of money to a large number of e-wallets from a single account can raise suspicion.

A Mumbai-based payment expert said, “This looks difficult to do but is not impossible. It will be traceable. For example, a contestant wants to transfer Rs 1 crore to voters. He will have to get 100 people who are willing to give their KYC and allow the contestant to transfer the money in their e-wallets. But since the money is going to 100 e wallets from a bank account, it can raise suspicion.”

One can transfer a maximum of Rs 10,000 per month from non-KYC e-wallets and payment gateways. The KYC compliant ewallets and payments gateways can transfer up to Rs 1 lakh a month.

Since transfers made through the payment gateway happen from a bank account, experts  claimed that this would always traceable.

Such transactions may also not catch the attention of the Election Commission and the  RBI, if the banks don't report them under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.