Sebi's know your customer rules aim to prevent scams, money laundering and flow of terror funds into markets

As an investor when you go to any mutual fund or a broker, register with a bank as a customer, buy insurance policy or subscribe to a pension plan, you need to prove your identity, the genuineness of the identity that you present to them, and also the cleanliness of the money you are investing or keeping in the bank. This process is called know your client compliance, or KYC. This is a process that almost every individual investor, or a bank customer should comply with to have a smooth financial journey.
KYC compliance is gaining increasing importance globally too. This is because KYC compliance aims to prevent money laundering, diverting of money from terrorists into the financial market and the reverse flow, that is terrorists investing in the market to reap handsome gains that they could use for unlawful activities, and also to stop financial frauds, scams, etc. "To become KYC compliant, you need to prove your identity and your address in the eyes of the law," said a top official at a leading domestic mutual fund house.

In this article, we will deal with the process that an individual investor should follow to be KYC compliant under the ambit of Sebi, the stock market and mutual fund regulator; how and where to get yourself KYC complaint; the advantages and disadvantages of not having a KYC; how to update or change your KYC information, and the problems you may face if your KYC information is not updated.