SEBI may come out with e-commerce distribution guidelines now that the Lok Sabha has cleared the Aadhaar Bill which gives a statutory backing to Aadhaar.
C. VR. Rajendran, CEO, AMFI said that Aadhaar Bill will pave the way for e-commerce distribution. “SEBI may come out with guidelines on e-commerce distribution since the Lok Sabha has cleared the Aadhaar Bill.”
A senior official who attended a SEBI meeting on Tuesday said that the regulator is keen to leverage technology to ease the KYC process with the help of Aadhaar before implementing e-commerce distribution guidelines. He said that this Bill will help the market regulator expedite action on e-commerce distribution.
Currently, SEBI has allowed use of Aadhaar as a valid KYC to invest in mutual funds. Investors can invest up to Rs.50, 000 per financial year per mutual fund using one time password (OTP) through eKYC. However, investors who wish to invest more than this limit need to undergo IPV or biometric based authentication. SEBI may do away with Rs.50, 000 limit with the statutory backing given to Aadhaar, he added.
A few months back, SEBI had constituted a committee headed by Nandan Nilekani to recommend measures to reduce cost structure of mutual funds. Sources said that the committee has been proactively working on this new distribution channel and is likely to give its recommendations in the coming months.
The proposal to facilitate mutual fund transactions through ecommerce sites has met with mixed response. While some say that it will help expand the reach of mutual funds, others say that investors can’t take informed decisions, especially when it comes to buying mutual funds online.
