• Research & Analysis Services I Academic I Market & Industry I Government Policy I
Article
Best KYC Certification in India

Best KYC Certification in India

What is KYC?

KYC stands for Know Your Customer. It is a regulatory process for financial institutions and requires verification of the identities of customers. The regulators require financial institutions to screen their customers so that no bad actors enter their financial system. KYC Process is important to prevent money laundering. This process began in the 1990s to help fight money laundering. But after the terror attack of 9/11, it became part of the Patriot Act.

What are the different types of KYC Processes?

Typically there are two types of processes in Knowing Your Customer.

  1. Paper-Based KYC Method
  2. Digital KYC Method

Paper Based KYC method involves the submission of the papers to the service providers such as the bank or e-commerce company, which may or may not validate these documents with the government records.

The digital KYC method on the other hand is a completely Electronic Method of validating the KYC details of an Individual.

European citizens are given the E-Id whereas in India the mechanism used for E-KYC is called Aadhaar Card. Retina scans and fingerprints are required inputs to complete the digital KYC process.

However, the methods of the KYC would differ for the non-individuals. If the same has to be completed for say a private limited company then one needs to submit the Incorporation documents etc.

What is KYC Certification?

There is a significant interest in the youths to take the KYC as a career option. Though some of them find jobs in KYC processes because of the urgency of the employers or because of other skill sets, getting certification in KYC is equally important.

KYC certifications enhance the quality of compliance. It certifies that the student in possession of the certification has knowledge of the KYC processes. It also implies that the students understand the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued directions for combating illegal operations and the movement of funds through the use of banking channels.

Importance of KYC Certification

KYC operations have assumed added importance owing to the security risk posed to the country. KYC is important to maintain the financial health of the institutions. However, the KYC domain is evolving faster. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which is an inter-governmental agency has come out with the concept of Risk Based Approach to Money Laundering.

KYC Certifications in India

There are providers of KYC certification in India. Many professionals working in the banks take the certification exams. There are many advantages and disadvantages of completing these certifications. While doing the analysis of these certifications, our team figured out that there are three most prominent certifications

  1. IIBF KYC Certification
  2. V-Skills KYC Certification
  3. Certified KYC Expert

Let’s look at them one by one.

IIBF KYC Certification

This is the certification offered by the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance and you can register for the same here. This is one of the oldest courses but is not updated frequently. The study material for this course is available in book format and can be purchased from Amazon. The cost of this certification is approximately Rs. 2000.

V-Skills Certification

This certification is offered by V-skills. They offer many certifications in India and KYC Certification is one of them. Their certification costs $49, which is close to Rs. 4000. They give access to their learning management system to learn and study the course. There is 50 questions certification exam and 50% passing marks are required for completion of certification,

Certified KYC Expert

This certification is offered by Indiaforensic, but this is not the same certification as their Certified Anti-Money Laundering Expert (CAME). The CAME certification is quite exhaustive whereas CKYCE is the certification for entry-level professionals who just need to be aware of KYC jargon. The cost of this certification is around Rs. 8000. However, you need to monitor their website as there are regular discount schemes.

The Best KYC Certification

Our team assessed these certifications from the perspective of the applicability of the course for employability. And we found out that KYC is evolving. FATF Introduces new guidance notes. These new developments are present in only one course and it was Certified KYC Expert. In this course, you learn the concepts of KYC but in addition to that, you also learn the Risk-Based Approach to KYC. You also learn the shell company investigations in the same course.

Considering the professional developments in the KYC Domain, the Certified KYC Expert course offered by the Indiaforensic Center of Studies is the Best KYC Certification course. Besides commenting on the traditional methods of completing the KYC Process it covers the topics of Risk Based Approach to KYC, PEP, Real Estate, and many other high-risk entity classification techniques. Their course curriculum makes the program different.

Additionally, they have a dynamic pricing mechanism. So the aspirants need to keep checking the certification prices regularly. They keep offering discounts and offers regularly.

Syllabus of Certified KYC Expert

The syllabus for the Certified KYC Expert addresses the needs of the compliance professionals working in the KYC domain. However, effective implementation of the guidelines issued by the FATF requires the banks to assess and understand the risk associated with the customers.

  • What is a High-Risk Customer?
  • How do tackle customers from High-Risk Countries?
  • Who are Politically Exposed Persons?
  • Customer Due Diligence in Real Estate Sector
  • Money Laundering through hospitals etc.

Moreover, there are many other topics on shell companies to learn. Students get access to the learning management system to learn. But in case you need mentoring, you need to speak to one of their representatives for classroom sessions.

Who Should Do CKYCE?

The certified KYC Expert course is designed and developed for entry-level professionals who are looking to get into the onboarding process, KYC process, or AML process of any bank, a fintech company, financial institution, or a cooperative bank. Moreover, the course is applicable to any banker who is looking to understand the domain of KYC.

This is an exclusive analysis from Tatvita’s analyst team. Please subscribe to Tatvita’s Newsletter for a more informed analysis.

Knowledge-sharing platform is aimed at providing analytical insights into Economy, Public Policy and Foreign Policy.

1 thought on “Best KYC Certification in India

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.