New Delhi: Opening a bank account, buying insurance or investing in a mutual fund could soon become much easier in India.
The banks and insurers across the country are set to roll out a new common customer identification system, called Central Know Your Customer 2.0 (CKYC 2.0), from August, reported Reuters. The new framework will allow banks and insurance companies to access a customer’s verified KYC details from a central database after receiving the customer’s consent. Mutual funds and stockbrokers are expected to come on board later this year.
The move is expected to reduce paperwork, speed up onboarding and make it easier for people to access financial products.
WHAT IS CKYC 2.0?
CKYC 2.0 is an upgraded version of India’s central KYC system. Instead of submitting identity and address proof separately to every bank, insurer or financial institution, customers will be able to share their existing verified records through a central registry.
The institution will only need the customer’s approval, which will be given through a one-time password (OTP), before fetching the details.
This means customers may no longer have to upload the same documents every time they open a new account or update their information.
WHY IS THE NEW SYSTEM BEING INTRODUCED?
India already has a central KYC registry with around 1.2 billion customer records. However, the system has not been widely used because many records contain duplicate entries, incomplete information or outdated details.
As a result, financial institutions have continued to ask customers to complete KYC separately. The upgraded system aims to solve this problem by improving the quality of records.
One of the biggest changes in CKYC 2.0 is the introduction of a confidence score for every customer record.
The score will indicate how reliable the information is and whether it has already been verified by another financial institution. This will help banks and insurers decide how much they can rely on the data while onboarding customers.
According to people familiar with the project, this could also strengthen fraud detection by making customer records easier to monitor.
BANKS AND INSURERS FIRST, MUTUAL FUNDS LATER
Banks and insurance companies are expected to start using the new system in August.
Mutual funds, brokerages and other capital market participants are likely to join later this year as regulators complete sector-specific requirements.
The project is being jointly implemented by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). However, the regulators have not officially commented on the rollout timeline.
INDUSTRY EXPECTS WIDER FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION
Industry executives believe the new system could encourage more people to invest beyond traditional bank accounts.
DP Singh, Joint Chief Executive of SBI Funds Management, said the common customer identification framework could significantly expand the mutual fund investor base. He noted that State Bank of India alone has around 500 million bank accounts, and even if a small share of these customers begin investing, the industry could see strong growth.
Insurance companies are also preparing for the transition. According to industry executives, customer records will be updated almost in real time, making the process faster and more efficient.
A STEP TOWARDS EASIER FINANCIAL ACCESS
Over the past decade, India has made significant progress in expanding access to bank accounts. According to World Bank data, nearly 89% of adults had a bank account in 2024. However, participation in products such as mutual funds, insurance and pensions remains much lower.
By reducing paperwork and making customer verification simpler, CKYC 2.0 aims to remove one of the key hurdles that keeps many people from using a wider range of financial services.
If the rollout goes as planned, opening financial accounts in the coming months could become quicker, smoother and far less repetitive for millions of customers across the country.
