CKYC 2.0: NRIs in UAE can soon avoid repeated KYC checks in India

Dubai: Indian expatriates in the UAE could face fewer repetitive identity checks when opening or updating financial accounts in India under an upgraded central Know Your Customer system expected to begin rolling out in August 2026.

Known as Central KYC 2.0, the framework will allow participating financial institutions to retrieve a customer’s verified identity record from a central registry after receiving consent. This could save non-resident Indians from repeatedly submitting passports, address proofs, photographs and other KYC documents to different banks, insurers and investment companies.

Banks and insurance companies are expected to join the first phase, followed by mutual funds, brokerages and other regulated financial institutions later in 2026, according to regulatory sources and industry executives cited by Reuters.

“India's much anticipated Central Know Your Customer (CKYC) 2.0 project is expected to go live in August 2026,” said James Mathew, CEO and Managing Partner at UHY James Chartered Accountants LLC. Mathew is a former chairman of the Indian Business and Professional Council Dubai and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s Dubai Chapter.

“August 2026 onwards India will begin rolling out its revamped Central KYC (CKYC) framework - in phases - starting with banks and insurance companies followed by other regulated financial institutions during the year.”

CKYC 2.0 to help NRIs

NRIs often maintain several financial relationships in India. These may include NRE and NRO bank accounts, fixed deposits, insurance policies, pension products, mutual funds and brokerage accounts.

Each provider may ask customers to complete its onboarding or periodic KYC procedures. This can require multiple copies of the same identity and address documents, even when another regulated institution has already verified them.

CKYC 2.0 is intended to make verified records more easily reusable across the financial system. “This initiative reinforces India’s most significant step towards simplifying customer onboarding and reducing repetitive compliance processes,” Mathew said.

“India’s Central KYC (CKYC) framework is a centralized system that stores verified customer identity records and provides each customer with a unique KYC identifier.”

The identifier already exists under India’s current CKYC system. The new project upgrades the underlying registry rather than creating India’s first CKYC number.

The Reserve Bank of India defines a KYC Identifier as the unique number or code assigned to a customer by the Central KYC Records Registry. Customers can provide the identifier and give a regulated institution consent to download their valid KYC information.

Complete KYC only once

That is the broad objective, but it does not mean a bank or another financial institution can never ask for further information.

“Instead of repeatedly submitting the same documents to different financial institutions, the new CKYC initiative enables customers to complete the KYC process once and ensures authorised entities can access the verified record, with appropriate consent,” Mathew said.

Under the framework reported by Reuters, an institution would seek the customer’s consent through a one-time password before accessing the verified record. The institution could then use the data to open an account or update customer details.

A fresh document or additional information can still be required if the stored information has changed, is incomplete or does not meet current KYC rules. An institution can also seek further evidence when a document has expired or when it needs to verify the customer’s present address, conduct enhanced due diligence or assess risk.

This distinction could be important for NRIs whose overseas residence, tax status, passport, visa or contact details have changed.

India’s existing RBI rules also require periodic KYC updates. The minimum frequency is once every two years for high-risk customers, once every eight years for medium-risk customers and once every 10 years for low-risk customers. Financial institutions may conduct more frequent checks under their internal policies.

CKYC 2.0 aims to make those checks and updates more efficient. It does not remove institutions’ legal responsibility to understand their customers and monitor risk.

Which services it covers

The central registry is operated by the Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India, commonly known as CERSAI.

“The framework is managed by CERSAI and is intended to be used across banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, and other regulated financial institutions,” Mathew said.

Reuters reported that Indian banks and insurers would begin using the upgraded framework in August. Mutual funds and brokerages are expected to follow later in 2026 as regulators work through requirements specific to the capital markets.

The RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India are jointly involved in the project, the report said.

Protean eGov Technologies is building the upgraded platform. CERSAI awarded the company an approximately Rs161 crore contract in December 2024 covering the system’s design, development, implementation, operation and maintenance. The contract runs for 69 months.

Better than CKYC 1.0?

India’s existing central registry contains about 1.2 billion customer records, according to Reuters. Yet concerns over duplicate entries, missing information and uneven data quality have limited the registry’s use.

CKYC 2.0 seeks to address these issues through improved verification and deduplication.

Records are expected to carry a confidence score indicating the accuracy of their information and whether a financial institution has verified the data. The system is also expected to use consent controls and enable records to be updated in near real time.

Earlier reports said planned features include DigiLocker integration, direct verification with document-issuing authorities and artificial intelligence-assisted photograph matching to detect possible duplicate records.

“One of the key advantages of a centralised KYC model is that it reduces duplication, improves data consistency, and enhances the customer experience, while empowering financial institutions to turn the spotlight on risk assessment and ongoing monitoring rather than repetitive data collection,” Mathew said.

What should NRIs do now?

NRIs do not need to complete a new process merely because the rollout is expected to begin in August.

Customers can first check whether they already have a KYC Identifier. Under RBI rules, the institution that generates the number must communicate it to the customer. It can also be accessed through the official CKYC portal.

NRIs should ensure their Indian financial institutions hold current information, particularly their overseas address, mobile number, email, passport and residency status. Whether further documents are required will depend on the customer’s record, the product and the institution’s due-diligence requirements.

Customers should also wait for instructions from their bank, insurer or investment provider. The phased rollout means services may not become available across every financial institution at the same time.

UAE to adopt similar system?

The UAE Central Bank said in April it was developing a nationwide unified Know Your Customer (eKYC) platform, following the signing of a technical partnership agreement with the global technology company Norbloc AB.

Mathew said India’s model could offer a reference point for the UAE, where customers and businesses may need to provide similar KYC documents separately to banks and professional-service providers.

“The UAE, despite being one of the world’s most advanced digital economies, continues to rely on repetitive KYC and onboarding processes at various levels,” he said.

“Banks, regulators, and professional service firms often request similar documentation independently, which often results in multiple submissions of the same information. Further this leads to extended onboarding timelines and increases operational effort - which are key considerations in conversations focused on improving the ease of doing business.”

Mathew said a central or interoperable system could allow a business to complete its KYC once and give authorised institutions controlled access to the verified record.

“This move not only reduces duplication but also preserves risk-based compliance, customer due diligence, and regulatory oversight,” he said. “The objective is not to dilute compliance standards, but to make compliance more efficient, consistent, and less repetitive.”

Mathew said the UAE had explored centralised KYC infrastructure previously without progressing to full implementation. He suggested that the country’s digital infrastructure and regulatory-technology capabilities could support another examination of the model.

“India’s CKYC framework provides a valuable reference point for how technology and standardisation can simultaneously strengthen regulatory objectives and improve customer experience,” he said.