Prospective subscribers to the National Pension System (NPS) can now open their NPS accounts through the central know your customer (CYKC) system. This is another online option the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA ) has provided to prospective subscribers to open their NPS accounts part of the digital initiatives under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav festivities to mark 75 years of India’s Independence. The process is completely online and paperless.

CKYC is a unique initiative of the Government of India that will allow NPS subscribers to complete their KYC only once for interacting with multiple service providers across the financial sector.

The Process

For opening their account, the subscribers will have to enter their details in the registration page. These will include: Name, PAN, Date of Birth, Email ID, Mobile number (linked with KYC ).

Then, they will have to select ‘Open New Account’.

Subscriber will receive a ‘one-time password’ on their mobiles, which they will need to enter at this stage.

These details, i.e., the subscriber’s PAN, DOB and email and mobile number will be checked with CKYC. If PAN, DOB and email/mobile number match, the subscriber’s KYC details available will be displayed on the screen.

If the subscriber wishes to proceed with the details available in CKYC, he/she may select ‘Yes’ and proceed. Else, the subscriber will have to select ‘No’ and choose eKYC as the other KYC option.

Once online KYC is completed, KYC status will display as ‘verified’. Subscriber can select applicant type and status and proceed.

At this stage, the subscriber’s name will populate against the name field as available in CKYC. This is un-editable. The DOB will be reflected as per the CKYC. This cannot be edited either. Father’s name, mother’s name, and gender if available in CKYC will populate against the respective field. These can be edited.

The subscriber’s address as available in CKYC will populate against the address field. This cannot be edited either.

Once all the mandatory data has been entered, subscriber can select the ‘Save Details’ button and proceed with generating the ‘Acknowledgement Number. This will be sent to the subscriber by way of

SMS and email. Subscriber can also download a copy of the receipt.

Subscriber’s photo and signature will be auto populated. The photo cannot be edited, while the signature is editable.

The CKYC Identification Number is a 14-digit number allotted by the Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI) to an investor after completion of the CKYC formalities.

The prospective subscribers can also check his/her CKYC number/status online by visiting the web portal of the financial institutions providing a CKYC check facility.