SEBI is considering a proposal for digital onboarding of individual foreign investors to increase their participation in India’s securities market. The plan focuses on enabling intermediaries to onboard eligible foreign clients using video-based identity verification rather than traditional in-person processes.
Under the framework described by multiple outlets, the infrastructure would include checks such as face liveness verification and measures to detect spoofing attempts. The proposal also aims to ensure that verification requirements do not inadvertently exclude people with special needs. In addition, it suggests that KYC could be accepted from other SEBI-registered entities, and that the approach would apply to clients located in FATF-compliant countries.
The Economic Times and NDTV reports both state that SEBI is seeking public input on the proposal. Feedback is requested by September 4, indicating that the digital onboarding framework remains in the consultation stage and subject to revisions following comments from stakeholders.
