BSE Technologies announces launch of KYC Registration Agency

BSE Technologies, a subsidiary of BSE, on Thursday announced the launch of KYC Registration Agency (KRA), which maintains KYC records of investors in an electronic form. 

KRA is a Sebi-regulated intermediary that grants the market participants authorisation for investors' Know Your Client (KYC), which is mandatory for investment in the securities market. 

KYC KRA has become a key segment for securities market investors and acts as a starting point for any investor's journey in the securities market. 

"We thank Sebi for reposing its faith in BSE to operate as a KYC Registration Agency. Over the years, BSE group has played a pioneering role in transforming the Indian capital markets and is pleased to launch one more service towards achieving inclusive investor reach," Sameer Patil, Chief Business Officer, of BSE said in a statement.

In April, Sebi issued fresh guidelines for KRAs whereby such agencies will have to independently validate the KYC records of all clients from July 1.

Under the guidelines, KRAs need to independently validate records of those clients (existing as well as new) whose KYC has been completed using Aadhaar as an Officially Valid Document (OVD).

The records of those clients who have completed KYC using non-Aadhaar OVD will be validated only upon receiving the Aadhaar number.

The move came after Sebi, in January, notified new norms to make KRAs responsible for carrying out independent validation of the KYC records uploaded on their system by Registered Intermediaries.