The Central Know Your Customer Registry (CKYC) is a centralised depository of KYC documents of customers availing various services of the financial sector. CKYC is created with the intent to reduce the burden of submitting KYC documents for verification when starting a new financial relationship with a new finance company.
Section 73 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, gives the central government the authority to frame various rules and regulations to curb down on black money. With this authority, the Central Government introduced CKYC to ensure one KYC for individuals to buy or invest in financial instruments. The Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest (CERSAI) is the supreme body that manages the CKYC registry.
It’s inevitable that you undergo the process of CKYC if you are a potential stock market or mutual fund investor. When you approach a fund house to invest in, you would first be asked to fill the KYC form and submit the supporting documents. These documents would be sent to CERSAI and you would be allocated with a 14 digit CKYC number. If you wish to invest in another mutual fund house, then you would not be in need of submitting the documents for verification. The mutual fund house would request CERSAI to furnish your documents by submitting your CKYC number. CKYC makes your process of investing easy and hassle-free.
The existing mutual fund investors are not required to undergo the process of CKYC. However, this might change in the future. If an existing mutual fund investor decides to invest with a new mutual fund house, then he/she must mandatorily undergo the CKYC process.
You can check your CKYC number through various financial services company by following these steps:
There are four types of CKYC accounts, they are as follows:
The modern world is such that people want things to happen in a matter of a few minutes. The old process of starting a financial relationship with a financial company was tedious and you had to submit KYC documents. With the introduction of the CKYC registry, the documentation process has become simpler, quicker and, most importantly safer.