December 3, 2020: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved a ground-breaking initiative to enable all Pakistani resident and non-resident investors to open online accounts in the capital market.
The new regime, that is part of SECP’s digital transformation agenda, allows investors to seamlessly open his or her account with a broker from anywhere in the country without requiring to submit any documents physically or visit a broker. The new hassle-free process shall enable investors to commence trading swiftly.
However, to ensure maximum investor protection, an alternate online Customer Verification process has been introduced for the opening of online accounts. The online verification will be conducted independently by the Centralized KYC Organization. In addition, the account opening process has been made simpler by reducing the number of pages to be signed by the investors.
The new account opening system is a continuation of SECP’s reform agenda that aims at enhancing investor outreach, introducing digitization, and ensure robust growth of the capital markets. A sizeable investor base is a crucial stepping stone for the development of any capital market and is, therefore, part of the major objectives of the SECP. It is expected that the new regime would revolutionize Pakistan’s capital markets and contribute significantly towards economic growth in the country by channeling investments and savings through the market.
