The CKYC: India’s Integrated Identification System, Improved

We are living in a world packed full of automated solutions to problems. When you want to go shopping, just visit an online marketplace like Amazon or eBay and you’re good to go. You have chosen something that you wish to purchase but you wondered, "how should I pay for this?" Perhaps, with Indian KYC, it might be something more lenient to investing like buying stocks or shares from a company.

Good thing that online payment solutions exist nowadays. This is the most frequently used and reliable means of settling important or urgent payments to various goods and services in the market. However, there is a catch — companies are implementing stringent regulations with regards to the people who purchase their selling point and the authenticity of their identity.

One of the first solutions to this problem is the KYC (short for Know Your Customer) systems in several companies, stores, investment solutions, and more. This system is dedicated to identifying, accounting, and securing the customer’s information, including but not limited to the name of the customer, gender orientation, date of birth, employment, civil status, place of birth, and many more. The KYC system is implemented in several parts of the world, especially to developing and developed countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, and selected countries in Asia.

Particularly, India has taken a lot of crucial considerations in the field of customer and client identification, including their significant efforts in implementing the Indian KYC system nationwide. Because of the reported scams, complaints, and shady transactions and online accounts used in several platforms, they have decided to take the system to the next level. Here, I introduce to you, the Central KYC system in India.

The motivation behind Indian KYC

The main motivation behind the induction of CKYC in India is the non-compliance of the old KYC of banks all over the country. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed hefty penalties to several banks such as ICICI Bank Limited, Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra ranging from Rs 1 to 58.9 crore (notation for 10 million). In nearly a year, these banks faced what it looks like their worst penalties in the entire course of their operations.

These banks are known for being well-managed in terms of financial and statement compliance to the RBI. Because of these shocking events, the RBI knew that they have to implement a greater, more stringent system to minimize these unforeseen events. They created the Indian KYC or CKYC system, which is short for Central Know Your Customer. This new system is first imposed by the directives of the Ministry of Finance who created the Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI), the performing body of the CKYC Records Registry. This registry is dedicated to receiving, storing, securing, and retrieving KYC records digitally for clients. This is the government initiative to centralize the overall KYC processes and records in the country.

CKYC as an all-in-one customer records’ haven

For starters, the Central Know Your Customer (CKYC) system is the Government of India’s main KYC (Know Your Customer) program. The goal of this program is to integrate a system in place that enables investors to complete their KYC only once before engaging with specific financial sector entities. The system’s goal is to reduce the cost of generating and checking KYC documents once the consumer first communicates with a financial institution.

The Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest, or CERSAI, is created for the sole purpose of securing the stability of the new CKYC system in the country. It is authorized by the Government of India to act as the all-in-one security interest registry with the compliance to the PLMA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) of 2005. They shall be responsible for the overall security of KYC records in a digital form for clients. The accessibility of their form for complying CKYC requirements will be available via several websites on the Internet such as in portal.amfilindia.com. CKYCR shall serve as a consolidated repository of KYC records of financial sector investors with consistent KYC specifications and the inter-usability of KYC records across the industry.

Knowing the differences between KYC, eKYC, and CKYC

In terms of functionality, KYC, eKYC, and CKYC are just the same. They just differ in their approach and how they implement security and accessibility of KYC records for the clients. Their main differences are as follows.

The Indian KYC system is the typical and commonly-done procedure in the Mutual Fund industry whereby an investor’s identity is checked based on the written information he or she submits in a form of a document, accompanied by an In-Person Verification or IPV procedure. When the authentication is completed, the appropriate investor data must be encoded into the KRA Registration Agency (KRA) program and then finally added to their database.

The Indian KYC is done with the use of the investor’s Aadhaar number. There are two verification options of the investor’s identity upon the succession of the eKYC application. The first method is via an OTP (One-time Password) which has a limitation of Rs 50,000 per annum of mutual funds and automatically mandates it online. The second method is via biometrics which has no investment cap unless the investor violates the Government of India’s PLMA of 2005. When done, the investor’s details are imported into KRA databases.

The CKYC is the Government of India’s program seeking to create an integrated system that enables investors to do their KYC only once. CKYC enforcement will allow an investor to go through the whole process without having to complete several KYC formalities. CKYC is geared towards the encouragement of investors in engaging more in the market.

Each investor shall receive a 14-digit KYC Identification Number upon compliance with the following requirements:

Completed CKYC application form/KRA application form plus supplementary CKYC form

• A self-attested proof of your identity (one of the following: PAN, passport, voter’s ID, driving license, Aadhar card, etc.)
• A self-attested proof of your residence (applicable to your proof of identity as long as it states your address)
• A photograph of yourself

Successful applicants shall receive an SMS message or e-mail, including their KIN. However, if you already have a KIN before, you are already a CKYC compliant and you don’t have to go through the whole process of completing the requirements.

Wrapping up: Indian KYC is a promising initiative

The CKYC is a promising initiative of the Government of India to lessen the hassle of going through every step of securing an investor’s identity. Also, it improves the overall security, stability, accessibility, and processing of applicants and existing investors alike. Additionally, the system has helped reduce and even eliminate the recurring number of penalties in large-scale financial establishments in the country, testifying the significant efforts of financial and customer care of the Government.

About Signzy

Signzy is a market-leading platform redefining the speed, accuracy, and experience of how financial institutions are onboarding customers and businesses — using the digital medium. The company’s award-winning no-code GO platform delivers seamless, end-to-end, and multi-channel onboarding journeys while offering customizable workflows. In addition, it gives these players access to an aggregated marketplace of 240+ bespoke APIs that can be easily added to any workflow with simple widgets.

Signzy is enabling ten million+ end customer and business onboarding every month at a success rate of 99% while reducing the speed to market from 6 months to 3–4 weeks. It works with over 240+ FIs globally, including the 4 largest banks in India, a Top 3 acquiring Bank in the US, and has a robust global partnership with Mastercard and Microsoft. The company’s product team is based out of Bengaluru and has a strong presence in Mumbai, New York, and Dubai.

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