Central KYC Registry: A Concept Study

Monisha Chaudhary

10 Jul, 2023

The Central KYC (Know Your Customer) Registry is a centralized depository of KYC documents of the customers benefiting from various services of the financial sector. The concept of Central KYC was established with the intent to minimize the burden and hassle of submitting KYC (Know Your Customer) documents for verification and inspection whenever starting a new financial association with a new finance company.

The Central KYC Registry in India often referred to as the CKYC (Central Know Your Customer) is basically, a centralized depository for maintaining and preserving the customer’s KYC records. Moreover, the Central Registry of Securitization and Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest (CERSAI) is responsible for managing the Central KYC norms.

The History behind the Concept of Central KYC

Section 73 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, authorizes the central government to make rules and regulations in order to prevent the generation of black money. Moreover, to curb the snag like black money, the central government has established the Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security interest (CERSAI) of India in order to guarantee Single KYC requirement whenever any individual buys or invests in any of the financial products. Further, CERSAI is considered as the supreme body that manages and governs the Central KYC Registry regarding storage, safeguarding, maintenance, and easy access to the customer’s KYC (Know Your Customer) records.

Features of Central KYC

Following listed are the key features pertaining to the concept of Central KYC –

1. Central KYC is a 14-digit number duly linked with the Identity Proof
2. Customer’s KYC data is safely maintained and preserved in an Electronic Format
3. All the documents submitted are duly checked and verified with the issuer
4. All the concerned Financial Institutions are notified after any change in KYC details
5. Central KYC assures single KYC requirements for all the financial products
6. It is a process of obtaining an individual’s information regarding his or her identity and address
7. Central KYC helps in the prevention of Money Laundering
8. Central KYC minimizes the issues pertaining to repeated submission of KYC documents
9. It helps in KYC search, upload, download, update, etc
10. It provides a safe, secure and advanced user authentication mechanism for system access
11. Holds regulatory reports to monitor compliance

Benefits of Central KYC Registry

Following are the benefits annexed with the concept of KYC Registry –

1. CKYC registry facilitates financial institutions to verify the documents at ease.
2. Investors are not required to submit KYC documents every time before starting a new financial association with a new financial institution.
3. Investors have access to update their details and particulars in the CKYC (Central Know Your Customer) Registry.
4. An Individual can use the allotted CKYC number for buying or investing in various financial instruments such as an insurance policy, stock markets or even for investing in mutual funds.

Types of Central KYC Accounts

In order to buy or invest in any financial product or services, there are four types of accounts available in the KYC form. Following listed are the types of Central KYC Accounts –

Normal Account – A KYC account will be considered as a normal account when following listed official documents are submitted as proof of identity

1. PAN Card
2. Aadhaar Card
3. Voter ID
4. Driving License
5. Passport
6. NREGA Job Card.

Simplified KYC Account – If an individual does not submit any of the above-mentioned six documents, then the concerned account will be treated as the simplified KYC account. Further, these types of customers can comply with the Central KYC by just submitting any of the following listed documents –

1. Identity proof in the form of a Passport-sized photograph issued either by the central or state department
2. A copy of either bank count statement or the post office saving account statement
3. Copy of the utility bills in the form of the electricity bill, water tax receipt, piped gas connection, etc. But it is significant to note that the bill must not be older than two months
4. Duly attested passport-sized photograph by the gazetted officer 

Small Account – If an individual does not submit any type of valid and accepted documents, and then his or her account will be considered as a small KYC account. Further, these types of customers can comply with Central KYC by just submitting a self-attested application together with a passport size photograph.

Moreover, this type of KYC account is valid for a period of twelve months. After the completion of 12 months, the respective person required to submit a document which shows that the concerned individual has applied for any one of the six above-mentioned documents. But, there are some restrictions annexed with this type of account namely –

• Aggregate credits must not exceed the threshold of rupees one lakh in a year,
• Total withdrawal must not exceed rupees ten thousand in a month,
• Account balance must not exceed rupees fifty thousand at any time.

OTP based KYC Account – This kind of account is opened if an individual submits a photograph together with the Aadhaar card PDF file downloaded from the UIDAI website, which is facilitated by an OTP (One Time Password). Further, the KYC identifier for these OTP accounts would be prefixed with an ‘O’.

How to check Central KYC Number online?

An individual can check his or her CKYC (Central Know Your Customer) number through various financial service companies by following these steps –

• Log in to the official website of any of the financial service companies offering CKYC checks.

Following listed are the companies offering CKYC check –

https://camskra.com/

https://www.karvykra.com/

https://www.cvlkra.com/

https://www.nsekra.com/

• Now, the next step is to enter the PAN Card details
• Now, enter the security code provided on the display screen
• Lastly, the Central KYC number will be displayed on the screen

How the Central KYC works?

It is inevitable that an individual will undergo the process of Central KYC if he or she is a potential mutual fund or stock market investor. Moreover, when an individual approaches a fund house in order to invest, he or she would first be asked to fill the KYC (Know Your Customer) form and submit it with the supporting documents. In the next step, these submitted documents would be sent to CERSAI (Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security interest), and the concerned individual would be allocated with a 14-digit CKYC number.

Further, if an individual wishes to invest in another mutual fund house, then he or she would not be required to submit documents for verification. Moreover, the mutual fund house would request CERSAI to provide the documents by submitting an individual’s CKYC number. Lastly, CKYC makes the process of investing easy and hassle-free.

Documents Required by the Financial Institutions for Central KYC Registration

Following listed are the documents required by the Financial Institutions for Central KYC Registration –

1. A Duly signed and filled Institution Registration Form of the Financial Institution
2. Certificate, Notification, License issued by the regulator
3. PAN card details of the Financial Entity
4. Corporate Identification Number (CIN) in the case where the Institutions holds multiple Licenses
5. In the case of the Co-Operative Banks or Societies, one need to submit Registration Certificate granted by the concerned authority
6. The Authorization letter from the competent authority for Administration Users must be duly signed by the Authorized Signatory or the Director
7. Certified copy of the photo identity card of the admin user issued by the respective institution
8. Certified copy of any the ID proof concerning user administrator

It is significant to mention that once the required documents are duly submitted or uploaded on the servers of the Central KYC (Know Your Customer), the same will be verified and registered within a period of two weeks from the date it was uploaded. Further, the Central KYC not only saves from the physical submission of the required documents but also provides hassle-free investing.

Steps Involved in the Process of Central KYC Registration by the Financial Institution

Following are the steps included in the process of Central KYC Registration –

1. Visit the official website of the Central KYC
2. Click to register for a new Financial Institution registration
3. The concerned individual would require to add details of the Administrators
4. Then, the concerned institution will be asked to fill in the required details of the financial institution
5. Now, provide all the required details of the regulating body with whom the concerned institution is registered with
6. In order to start the operations, it is compulsory to have at least two digital signatures
7. The applicant is now required to download the filled Financial Institution registration form and submit the hard copy together with the required documents
8. After the due submission of the registration form, the system will generate a temporary reference number and will send it to the nodal officer
9. Then the applicant is required to test all the functionalities as per the provided checklist
10. Lastly, the CERSAI will verify the concerned application and will approve it if all the provided details are correct and true.

Documents Required by an Individual for Central KYC Registration

Following listed are the documents required by an Individual for Central KYC Registration –

1. Identity Proof in the form of the Passport, PAN card, Driving License, Voter Id card,  and other document notified by the Central government
2. Address Proof in the form of Passport, Voter Id card, Aadhar Card, PAN card, Driving License together with the copies of the original documents submitted for verification
3. The documents provided should be self-attested together with the photograph
4. Signature on the plain paper
5. Web Camera with a smooth internet connection
6. Contact details
7. Details of the related person such as the Guardian of Minor, Authorized representative

It is significant to mention that if in case the provided identity proof does not contain the address or the address provided is not correct then in that case only address proof is needed as a further document. Moreover, if the concerned individual has more than one correspondence address, then, in that case, an annexure is to be submitted together with the Central KYC Registry form.

Steps Involved in the Process of Central KYC Registration by an Individual

 Following are the steps included in the process of Central KYC Registration –

1. First and foremost step is to visit the website https://www.ckycindia.in/ckyc/index.php
2. Now the concerned individual is required to enter his or her PAN Card details, and then the system will check if the provided number is a valid PAN or not and also the individual is already KYC (Know Your Customer) verified or not
3. If the concerned individual’s KYC is already verified, then the system will alert him or her and ask whether he or she wishes to modify the KYC details
4. Any kind of modification is possible by just pressing the continue button
5. Now, the individual is required to enter his or her Name, Mobile Number, Email and the Aadhar card (UID) Number
6. In order to receive a message from the AMC, tick the checkbox to accept and then click on submit option
7. Further, in the next page, the individual would be required to add more personal details needed for Central KYC
8. Now, annex the self-certified copies of the Aadhar card and PAN card
9. Upload the photo by clicking through the camera
10. Now, sign on a piece of plain paper. This is required for uploading the signature. After that, the individual is required to show it to the device camera so that it can capture it
11. In-person verification will be conducted by way of a live video recording through the device camera
12. Lastly, the concerned individual is required to provide a confirmation, that all the information given and submitted are true and best to his or her knowledge

Impact of Central KYC on Existing Mutual Fund Investor

The existing mutual fund investors are not expected to undergo the process of Central KYC (Know Your Customer). However, this exemption might change in the future. Further, if an existing mutual fund investor wants to invest within a new mutual fund house, then he or she is mandatorily required to undergo the CKYC process.

Conclusion

The modern world is such that people want everything to happen in a few minutes. The old process of initiating a financial association with a financial company was a tedious and complex task as the applicant was required to submit KYC documents. With the commencement of Central KYC (Know Your Customer) Registry, the process of filing documents has become simpler, easy, quicker and, most importantly safer.