Business & Investments

India’s CKYC: A Model for UAE’s AED5.63 Trillion Banking Sector

India’s Central KYC model could become a reference for smarter compliance for the UAE’s AED5.63 trillion banking sector

“This initiative reinforces India’s most significant step towards simplifying customer on-boarding and reducing repetitive compliance processes,” James Mathew, CEO and Managing Partner, UHY James, says.

James Mathew, CEO and Managing Partner, UHY James Chartered Accountants LLC

Date: Dubai, UAE; August 03, 2026

News Highlights

  1. India’s new Central Know Your Customer (CKYC) 2.0 will help investors, businesses and customers to gain easy access to financial services;
  • The CKYC could help the UAE to roll out its own centralised KYC eco-system that will help companies open bank accounts faster and access financial services;
  • The UAE’s banking assets exceeded Dh5.63 trillion (US$1.53 trillion) in May 2026, growing at 1.1 per cent from Dh5.57 trillion at the end of April 2026;
  • The total value of the global financial system and banking intermediated funds reached US$468 trillion, with specific bank-held balances (deposits, loans, and assets under management) reaching US$406 trillion in recent months

The launch of the Central Know Your Customer (CKYC) 2.0 project in India will ease access to financial services and products in India from this month for the world’s largest population and strengthen customer engagement with the financial community in a bigger way.

The project will be rolled out in August 2026 in phases – starting with banks and insurance companies followed by other regulated financial institutions during the year – that will ease opening multiple bank accounts and help customers access banking products and services easily – in the world’s most populous country. Once completed, this could become the world’s largest depository of customer data.

India’s CKYC model could help the UAE banking industry to ease financial services for new customers who often find it difficult to open a bank account due to complex KYC requirements despite the growing banking assets that exceeded Dh5.63 trillion (US$1.53 trillion) in May 2026, growing at 1.1 per cent from Dh5.57 trillion at the end of April 2026, according to data from the Central Bank of the UAE.

More than 5 billion individuals globally possess some form of government-recognised digital identity credential – mostly in the form of identity cards or credit information stored by various authorities. In India, 1.34 billion people possess Aadhaar Card that provides Indian citizen 12-digit identification number.

Worldwide financial inclusion data indicates that approximately 79 per cent of the global adult population—representing over 4 billion account holders. A centralised global KYC eco-system could accelerate the worldwide banking sector as the total value of the global financial system and banking intermediated funds reachedUS$468 trillion, with specific bank-held balances (deposits, loans, and assets under management) reaching US$406 trillion in recent months.However, more than 1.3 billion people still remain unbanked worldwide including 350 million in India.

There is no single centralised global KYC database, but rather a collection of decentralised compliance systems processing billions of verification records annually. The global KYC verification services market is valued at approximately US$4.41 billion, with electronic KYC (e-KYC) systems conducting over 5.8 billion digital identity validations each year.

India’s Central KYC (CKYC) framework is a centralized system that stores verified customer identity records and provides each customer with a unique KYC identifier. Instead of repeatedly submitting the same documents to different financial institutions, the new CKYC initiative enables customers to complete the KYC process once and ensures authorised entities can access the verified record, with appropriate consent. The framework is managed by CERSAI and is intended to be used across banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, and other regulated financial institutions.

“This initiative reinforces India’s most significant step towards simplifying customer on-boarding and reducing repetitive compliance processes,”James Mathew, CEO and Managing Partner, UHY James Chartered Accountants LLC, says.

“One of the key advantages of a centralised KYC model is that it reduces duplication, improves data consistency, and enhances the customer experience, while empowering financial institutions to turn the spotlight on risk assessment and ongoing monitoring rather than repetitive data collection.

“The objective is not to dilute compliance standards, but to make compliance more efficient, consistent, and less repetitive. India’s CKYC framework provides a valuable reference point for how technology and standardisation can simultaneously strengthen regulatory objectives and improve customer experience.”

Businesses face multiple KYC issues in the UAE banking sector that primarily stem from intensified customer due diligence, complex corporate structures, and strict regulatory compliance mandates. Key challenges include sudden compliance account freezes, tracing ultimate beneficial ownership, and adapting to shifting digital verification protocols.

The Central Bank of the UAE has recently signed a technical partnership with Sweden-based Norbloc AB to develop a nationwide electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) platform, as part of efforts to modernise the country’s financial infrastructure and strengthen financial stability.

“The initiative forms a key component of the central bank’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme, which aims to build a more integrated financial ecosystem, enhance operational efficiency and advance digital regulatory frameworks,” the Central Bank of the UAE said in a recent statement.

“The new platform is designed to address inefficiencies linked to duplicated customer due diligence processes, reduce compliance costs and reinforce the competitiveness of the UAE’s financial sector, while supporting a unified national approach to customer verification.”

The e-KYC system will streamline both individual and business verification processes, including KYC and know your business (KYB) requirements, through automated workflows and integration with trusted data sources.

The UAE, despite being one of the world’s most advanced digital economies, continues to rely on repetitive KYC and on-boarding processes at various levels. Banks, regulators, and professional service firms often request similar documentation independently, which often results in multiple submissions of the same information. Further this leads to extended on-boarding timelines and increases operational effort that are key considerations in conversations focused on improving the ease of doing business.

India’s Central KYC model could become a reference point for smarter compliance in the UAE, James Mathew says.

“A more centralised or interoperable KYC framework could help address this challenge. Under such a model, a business would complete KYC once, and authorised institutions could access a secure, verified record with appropriate permissions. This move not only reduces duplication but also preserves risk-based compliance, customer due diligence, and regulatory oversight,” James Mathew says.

The UAE has explored the concept of a centralised KYC infrastructure in the past, but the initiative did not progress to full implementation. As the country’s financial landscape continues to evolve rapidly and regulatory expectations continue to increase, it may be an appropriate time to revisit whether a centralised KYC framework – supported by the UAE’s advanced digital infrastructure and RegTech capabilities – could further strengthen efficiency across the financial ecosystem.

“The objective is not to dilute compliance standards, but to make compliance more efficient, consistent, and less repetitive. India’s CKYC framework provides a valuable reference point for how technology and standardisation can simultaneously strengthen regulatory objectives and improve customer experience,” he says.

“Further it brings to the fore a broader question:  Is this the right time for UAE to explore curating a centralised KYC framework that enhances efficiency and maintains robust regulatory standards – especially when the country is committed to strengthen its position as a leading global business hub?” he concludes.

Ends

About UHY James

Led by a team of financial experts in leadership roles carrying over 200+ years of experience, UHY James (Chartered Accountants LLC and Advisory LLC) is a leading audit, advisory and consulting practice in the UAE that has delivered quality professional services to businesses over a span of 30 years.

Expert industry insights, a pragmatic solution-oriented approach, solid credibility in the market and a future forward perspective combined make UHY James a preferred “Partner of Choice” for businesses across sectors and industries. Backed by the global network – UHY International – UHY James is comfortably positioned to offer clients a winning combination of local expertise and global exposure.

With strong local presence in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah and as Registered Auditors of DIFC, ADGM & CMA, UHY James continually strengthens its stance to make a difference in the UAE business landscape.