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India regulator Sebi proposes remote digital KYC for overseas investors
Sebi’s consultation would allow overseas KYC submission through digital channels and use video in-person verification, plus expanded document checks via DigiLocker and other certified records.
India’s markets regulator, Sebi, has proposed easing the process for overseas investors to open Indian securities accounts by shifting more of the KYC, or know-your-customer, steps to remote digital completion, according to LiveMint Markets. In a consultation paper issued Friday, Sebi said non-resident Indians, overseas citizens of India, and foreign nationals in FATF-compliant countries would be able to complete securities-market KYC digitally from abroad. It would replace today’s approach, which requires clients to be physically present in India for digital onboarding, leaving overseas investors dependent on physical processes. The proposal would permit submissions through an app, website, or other digital mode, including electronically signed scanned forms and digital KYC forms. Sebi also suggested accepting a cropped image of a client’s specimen signature, while requiring the investor to provide a wet signature during video in-person verification, or VIPV. To reduce document-verification hurdles, Sebi proposed allowing intermediaries to rely on DigiLocker documents, electronically issued documents verifiable with the issuing authority, Aadhaar-based authentication, and documents certified by specified authorities. It also wants to expand the list of certifying authorities to include authorized officials of overseas banks with relationships with Indian banks, and target recurring mobile-number verification issues by requiring it only where feasible. Sebi invited public comments until 4 September, and highlighted VIPV as the key safeguard, backed by controls such as live GPS capture, liveness checks, facial matching, protection against spoofed IP addresses, end-to-end encryption, and concurrent audits.