GIFT IFSC to get ‘One KYC’ system as IFSCA plans unified client onboarding framework

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is moving to introduce a ‘One KYC’ framework across GIFT IFSC, allowing investors and clients to complete their Know Your Customer (KYC) process only once and use the same verified records to access multiple financial services within GIFT City.

To operationalise the framework, the regulator has proposed mandatory integration of all regulated entities with KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs), creating a centralised KYC repository that can be accessed across banks, brokerages, insurers, fund managers and other financial institutions operating in the IFSC. “One of the main objectives of IFSCA is to promote ease of doing business for conducting financial services and attracting global capital into India. It is extremely important to ease the onboarding and KYC process for clients,” IFSCA Chairman K Rajaraman told the businessline.

He said financial institutions operating in GIFT IFSC had repeatedly sought a solution that would eliminate multiple KYC submissions. “If a client has completed KYC with one regulated entity in IFSC, she should not be required to complete KYC again for onboarding with any other regulated entity in the IFSC,” he added. Under the proposal, every client will be assigned a unique identification number by a KRA, enabling regulated entities to retrieve and verify existing KYC records instead of asking customers to repeatedly submit the same documents. The regulator said the move is intended to simplify client onboarding while reducing duplication in compliance processes.

In a consultation paper issued on June 26, IFSCA proposed that all regulated entities in the IFSC integrate with at least one KRA registered with the authority for uploading, storing, retrieving and updating client KYC records. The regulator has already granted registration to one KRA and is in the process of approving another. Rajaraman said the KRA framework has been designed broadly along the lines of the system regulated by SEBI in domestic markets but with a wider scope. “In the IFSC, the KRA covers the entire spectrum of financial services, including securities markets, banking, insurance and pensions,” he said.

Unlike domestic India, where different sectors have separate onboarding processes, the IFSC framework seeks to provide a common KYC infrastructure across financial services. Rajaraman described the KRA as functioning “more like a utility infrastructure layer” for regulated entities, allowing them to securely access verified client records while improving customer convenience.

The regulator also plans to make the IFSC framework interoperable with India’s Central KYC Registry (CKYCR). According to Rajaraman, the Ministry of Finance is working on a notification that will integrate IFSC KRAs with CKYCR, while the government is pursuing its broader “One KYC” vision across India’s financial sector. “KRA systems will work as an intermediary layer in IFSC, synchronising KYC data with CKYCR, which is India’s universal KYC repository,” he said.

The rollout will be implemented in phases. Regulated entities will be required to integrate with at least one KRA within two months of the circular coming into force. From September 1, 2026, all new clients onboarded in the IFSC must be linked to a KRA, while KYC records of all existing active clients will have to be uploaded by October 30, 2026.

Looking ahead, Rajaraman said IFSCA’s objective is to make onboarding increasingly digital. “In the next few years, we aim to become fully digital, subject to the legal framework permitting it,” he said, adding that achieving interoperability with other jurisdictions would depend on data privacy laws and cross-border regulatory cooperation. Public comments on the consultation paper have been invited until July 16.

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