Video KYC and Video Personal Discussion (Video PD) both use video to connect financial institutions with customers remotely. That similarity can make the two appear interchangeable.
They are not.
The two serve different purposes in the financial services lifecycle. Video KYC is primarily about establishing and verifying customer identity as part of the KYC process. Video PD is designed for structured discussions with borrowers or customers where the institution needs to understand, assess and document a conversation.
For banks, NBFCs, HFCs and other financial institutions, understanding this distinction is important because choosing the right workflow depends on what the institution is trying to accomplish.
Video KYC and Video PD Solve Different Problems
The easiest way to understand the difference is to look at the objective.
Video KYC answers a fundamental question:
“Can the institution verify the customer’s identity through the prescribed KYC process?”
Video PD addresses a different question:
“Can the institution conduct and document a meaningful discussion with the borrower or customer as part of a financial decision or service journey?”
Video KYC therefore sits around customer identification and onboarding, while Video PD can be used further along the lending or customer lifecycle.
Video PD is specifically designed for borrower assessments, lending evaluations and high-value customer interactions.
What Happens During Video KYC?
Video KYC is built around identity verification.
The process is generally structured around establishing the customer’s identity remotely and meeting the requirements associated with the applicable KYC framework.
The purpose is not to conduct an open-ended credit discussion.
This is why Video KYC is well suited to customer onboarding and identity-related workflows. Once the institution has established the required identity information, the customer’s KYC requirement can be addressed as part of the onboarding process.
But identity is only one part of a lending journey.
A lender may subsequently need to discuss the customer’s circumstances, intent, repayment considerations, business context or other aspects relevant to a financial decision. That is where Video PD serves a different purpose.
What Happens During Video PD?
Video PD is a structured conversation between an institution’s agent and one or more participants.
The participants could include a borrower, co-applicant, guarantor, business promoter or other relevant stakeholder.
Unlike a simple video call, the session is designed to generate an auditable record. Video PD records the session end-to-end and links the recording to the session record.
After the discussion, the platform can generate a transcript and an AI-powered summary.
This makes the conversation usable as part of a broader operational or underwriting workflow.
For example, in a home loan assessment, a credit officer may need to discuss repayment intent, employment stability or end use of funds. In an MSME assessment, the conversation may involve promoters or multiple business partners.
These are assessment conversations—not identity verification sessions.
A Key Difference: One-to-One vs Multi-Participant Discussions
Another important distinction is the session architecture.
Video PD supports multiple participants in a single session. A borrower, co-applicant and guarantor can all join the same conversation with the agent.
This is particularly useful in lending workflows where multiple parties are relevant to the assessment.
Instead of coordinating separate conversations, the lender can bring the relevant participants together in one structured session.
This makes Video PD particularly suited to lending and high-value customer interactions where the discussion may extend beyond a single individual.
Video PD Creates More Than a Call Record
The output of a Video PD session is designed to become part of the institution’s operational record.
The platform can generate:
- A recording of the session
- An extracted audio file
- The original-language transcript
- An English transcript
- An AI-generated call summary
These outputs are securely stored and linked to the session.
This is particularly relevant for lenders because the assessment conversation can potentially be reviewed after the interaction rather than relying only on manually recorded notes.
The AI-generated summary can also be configured based on the journey. Different lending workflows can therefore receive summaries structured around their specific requirements.
Multilingual Conversations Are Another Important Consideration
India’s lending ecosystem serves borrowers across diverse linguistic markets.
Video PD supports transcription across 23 Indian languages. For non-English conversations, the platform generates both the original-language transcript and an English translation.
This can help credit and risk teams review borrower discussions even when the original conversation took place in a regional language.
For lenders operating across multiple states and geographies, this can make recorded borrower conversations more accessible to centralised teams.
When Should Lenders Use Video KYC?
Video KYC is appropriate when the primary objective is customer identity verification as part of the KYC process.
It is therefore relevant during customer onboarding and other workflows where the institution needs to complete the applicable KYC requirements remotely.
The key point is that Video KYC should not be treated as a substitute for every type of video interaction with a customer.
Its purpose is identity verification.
When Should Lenders Use Video PD?
Video PD becomes relevant when the institution needs a structured, recorded conversation for assessment, lending or another high-value customer interaction.
For example, lenders can use it for retail and home loan underwriting, MSME and business loan assessments, high-value personal loan pre-disbursement checks, collections and restructuring discussions.
It can also be useful when a co-applicant or guarantor needs to participate in the discussion.
In these situations, the value is not simply connecting over video. It is creating a structured and auditable interaction that can generate usable information for downstream teams.
Video KYC and Video PD Can Work Together
The choice between Video KYC and Video PD does not always have to be either-or.
In a digital lending journey, the two can serve different stages.
A simplified journey could look like:
Customer Onboarding → Video KYC → Credit Assessment → Video PD → Underwriting / Decision → Disbursement
The exact workflow will depend on the lender’s processes and regulatory requirements, but the principle remains the same: identity verification and borrower assessment are different activities and can require different digital workflows.
Video PD can therefore complement Video KYC rather than compete with it.
Choosing the Right Video Workflow
The distinction ultimately comes down to the purpose of the interaction.
If the institution needs to establish or verify customer identity, the relevant workflow is Video KYC.
If it needs to conduct a structured discussion with a borrower, co-applicant, guarantor or other stakeholder and retain a record of that conversation, Video PD is the more relevant solution.
For lenders moving toward increasingly digital operations, this distinction can help avoid using a one-size-fits-all video workflow.
Video KYC brings identity verification online. Video PD brings the assessment conversation online.
Together, they can address different parts of the customer and lending lifecycle—helping financial institutions move beyond simply digitising paperwork toward creating a more connected, documented and auditable digital lending experience.
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