Enhance eSignature Legitimacy for Financial Services in India

How to eSign a document: eSignature legitimacy for Financial Services in India

welcome back to the channel and thanks for watching this video in this video we shall be covering the guidelines for digital signatures issued by the Financial Services Commission of maius on the 23rd of October 20123 under section 71a of the maius financial services act 2007 we shall be covering all aspects of these guidelines which include their introduction and application into law defin found therein the objectives in terms of criteria and standards the application governing the use of digital signatures further criteria and conditions of usage digital signature software related to these guidelines and finally recordkeeping and compliance I hope you enjoyed this video and as usual I wish you a very reflective and insightful [Music] viewing before we begin it's worth noting that I previously posted a video explaining the roles powers and functions of the Financial Services Commission of maius or the FSC maius many people I interact with daily often wonder where it's stated that non-legislative Provisions meaning non-act such as FSC rules standards guidelines and handbooks are found luckily there's a specific section in the fin Financial Services act 2007 or the FSA 2007 that addresses this section 71a NB states that quote the commission shall have such Powers as are necessary to enable it to effectively discharge its functions and May in particular a make FSC rules set standards and provide guidelines and B give directions to any person to ensure compliance with irrelevant Act AML CFT legislation guidelines or any licensing condition end quote in addition referring to not complying with guidelines issued by the FSC maius under the FSA 2007 is treated as an offense under Section 91 stating as a summary that if a lensey a current or former controller of a license or any employee of a license doesn't follow the rules set by this act or its directions shall commit an offense if there's no specific penalty mentioned upon conviction they can be fined up to 500,000 maian rupees and imprisoned for up to 5 [Music] years feel free to pause the sections I will be covering before I do such or just listen to me summarizing them for you as that that is the point of this [Music] video right the electronic transactions act 2000 permits public sector agencies such as the FSC morius or the register of companies to one accept electronic filing and documentation two issue electronic notices licenses permits and approvals and number three conduct electronic payments if a public sector agency decides to perform certain functions it can number one specify the type of electronic signature needed for electronic records which may include digital or other electronic signatures and number two the method and format for affixing the signature to electronic documents and the criteria for certification authorities used by the person filing or or issuing the document the important point to note is that these guidelines pertain to governmental bodies as just mentioned and do not extend to commercial banks in maius licensed by the bank of maius or other financial institutions licensed by the FSC morius each of these entities has its own policies requirements and discretion in determining whether to accept electronic signatures in ance with these guidelines the guidelines outline the minimum standards that the FSC morius expects its applicants and lenses to follow regarding the use of digital signatures for signing documents in financial business activities they should be considered and read alongside relevant provisions of the electronic transactions act and other applicable laws in morius also known as the relevant acts if you are enjoying the content of this video so far I'd really appreciate it if you could post a like on the video and perhaps even subscribe to the channel as this would help my growth with the YouTube algorithm and analytics to reach a wider audience lastly if you would be interested in being a sponsor of the next video for 30 to 60 seconds feel free to email me at the global bus Channel at gmail.com to discuss further now back to the video [Music] let's take a moment to go over the definitions which are mentioned and referred to in the guidelines Adobe Reader is a software created by Adobe Systems Incorporated for viewing PDF files which I'm sure all of you would be familiar with Adobe Acrobat is a suite of software and services by Adobe Systems Incorporated for viewing creating editing and managing PDF files commission refers to the Financial Services Commission of maius or the FSC maius established under the financial services act 2007 digital format means in a digital or electronic form digital signature has the same meaning as defined in the electronic transactions act which as per the act itself is simplified as meaning an electronic signature created through an asymmetric crypto system ensuring that the signer identity can be verified and the Integrity of the electronic record can be confirmed it encompasses features like voice recognition digital fingerprinting or other prescribed biotechnology features or processes eidas refers to the EU or european regulation number 910-2093 platform is the online portal created by the FSC maius for processing applications and managing submissions licenses refers to entities defined under section two of the financial services act 2007 holding licenses also defined under section two of the ACT portable document format or PDF is a file format developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated for use with acrobat relevant acts are those listed on the website of the Financial Services Commission of morous and finally wet signatures refer to signing a paper or document used in pen and ink the objectives of the guidelines for digital signature are multifaceted as per point a they must delineate clear criteria and standards that applicants and lenses must adhere to these guidelines are aimed at ensuring that the Financial Services Commission of morius acknowledges and approves the use of digital signatures under particular conditions serving as a viable alternative to traditional wet signatures by outlining specific criteria these guidelines facilitate the FSC marius's recognition and acceptance of digital signatures as legally binding substitute for wet signatures in relevant transactions and documentation regarding point B they establish a robust framework that instills a high degree of confidence in the use of digital signatures these guidelines aim to provide Assurance to stakeholders that digital signatures when utilized in compliance with the specified criteria and standards maintain the legal effect validity and enforceability as mandated by the electronic transactions act by ensuring that digital signatures are not denied legal recognition or efficacy these guidelines promote the widespread adoption and acceptance of digital signature technology thereby facilitating the seamless transition towards digitalization in financial transactions and Regulatory Compliance these guidelines provide a framework for the utilization of digital signatures across various scenarios which includes applicants submitting PDF documents electronically which are digitally signed as part of the license application process the guidelines specify the criteria and standards for the acceptance of such digitally signed documents by Financial Services Commission of maius lenses electronically submitting PDF documents for postlicensing requests such as amendments or updates which are digitally signed the guidelines outline the requirements for the recognition and acceptance of these digitally signed documents by the FSC morius during inspections conducted by the FSC Marius lenses may be required to provide documentary evidence in a form form of PDF documents containing digital signatures the guidelines govern the use of digital signatures in such scenarios ensuring compliance with regulatory standards the FSC maius May determine additional instances where digitally signed PDF documents are required for submissions these guidelines provide a framework for the use of digital signatures in such cases ensuring consistency and adherance to EST lished criteria and standards set forth by the commission the FSC morius acknowledges and approves the utilization of digital signatures for the purposes outlined in paragraph four of these guidelines contingent upon adherance to the following seven criteria Criterion one the signer must be an individual meaning a natural person Criterion two the document signed digitally must be in PDF format and the digital certificate used for signing must be issued by a certificate Authority listed on the Adobe approved trust list or abbreviated as aatl the explanatory notes summarize state that PDF is a file format for electronic documents self-contained and supporting encryption and digital signatures the aatl is a list of trusted certificate authorities approved by Adobe ensuring automatic trust by Adobe software like acrobat and reader the digital signature must adhere to the padis LTV standard padis LTV or PDF Advanced electronic signatures with long-term validation is an advanced digital signature type aimed at ensuring the prolonged validity and dependability of digital signatures in PDF documents Pat is compliant with the eu's eidas regulation outlines technical specifications for pdf-based digital signatures pad LTV specifically enables a pad signature to uphold its validity and reliability over time even if the digital certificates used in its creation expire or are revoked this is accomplished by embedding additional data like timestamp information and certificate revocation status into the signature facilitating verification and validation long after its initial [Music] creation the digital signatures validity must be automatically verifiable within Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat using the signature panel certificate details and signature validation features let's pay attention to the explanatory notes regarding thefor mentioned regarding the signature panel within Adobe Reader Adobe Acrobat the signature panel provides an overview of the digital signature status and details including verification of its validity the signer's identity and any document changes since signing concerning the certificate details users can access certificate details by right clicking on a signature field and selecting Show signature properties in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader this displays information such as the signer's name signature date and certificate issuer finally for the signature validation Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader enables signature validation by clicking on the signature panel or field and selecting validate all signatures this process checks the digital signature against the certificate Authority's public key infrastructure to confirm its [Music] validity Criterion five the digital signatures security level must meet or exceed the requirements set by the eidas regulation for advanced electronic signatures or AES explanatory nodes are as such an Eid AES signature offers enhanced security and legal validity compared to a simple electronic signature as it employs Advanced cryptographic methods to bind the signature to the signer's identity and document contents minimum properties of the digital signature include one unique signer identity the signature must be linked to a unique identifier verified through a digital certificate from a trusted third party provider number two strong authentication the signature requires a high level of authentication such as an sms-based multiactor authentication to verify the signers identity number three data Integrity the signature ensures the documents Integrity by using cryptographic hash functions to create a unique digital fingerprint and number four non-repudiation the signature provides strong non-repudiation preventing the signer from denying the signature using techniques like time stamping and secure audit trails Criterion number six a certificate of completion or COC must be generated and retained by the digital signature software for each digitally signed document for record keeping and auditing purposes explanatory notes are as such the COC serves as evidence of the digital signature event and includes number one authentication information about the signature signer date and time and other relevant details for signature verification number two Integrity details about the signed document such as the document name and number of pages and number three compliance the COC may be requested by the FSC morius for compliance checks or investigations needing additional [Music] verification criteria number seven the signed document must contain an embedded timestamp explanatory notes are as such an embedded timestamp within a digital signature provides proof of the exact time when the signature was created this timestamp generated by a trusted third party called a timestamp Authority or TSA is securely embedded in the signature the TSA receives a hash value of the document from from the signer and adds its own timestamp to create a unique identifier the identifier along with the signer digital certificate is embedded into the signature embedded timestamps ensure the integrity and authenticity of digitally signed documents by linking the signature to a specific date and time providing an independent and verifiable record of its creation [Music] applicants and lenses of the Financial Services Commission of maius are advised to adopt a vendor neutral approach When selecting digital signature software the FSC maius does not endorse any specific vendor but requires that chosen software meets the minimum security standards outlined in paragraph five of these guidelines Additionally the software must facilitate a strong audit Trail demonstrating signatories intent to sign the chosen digital signature software should enable signing parties to download and retain executed documents with clear identification of document storage duration and audit Trails for reference the software's security functionalities should be comped comparable to s EU Advanced signature furthermore the selected digital signature software or service provider must hold an ISO 27001 or S SO2 type 2 certifications as a minimum [Music] requirement these guidelines do not diminish or derogate from the record keeping obligation of applicants and lenses of the FSC morius as stipulated by existing laws and regulations and guidelines issued by the commission compliance with these guidelines does not exempt applicants and lenses from their existing recordkeeping responsibilities failure to adhere to these guidelines will lead to the Financial Services Commission of maius not accepting digital signatures and May result in other regulatory actions being taken against the non-compliant parties it is essential for applicants and lenses to ensure full compliance with these guidelines to maintain the validity and acceptance of their digital signatures by the FSC Marius once again thank you so much for watching this video Until the End this is hugely appreciated by me and I hope it provided you with valuable information inside ites and key takeaways if you enjoyed the content of this video it would mean a lot if you would click on the like button to help with the YouTube algorithm if you haven't done so already as always I will be posting frequent and insightful content so feel free to come back to the channel for more videos concerning the offshore Global and Financial Services Industries stay safe and healthy guys I'll see you in the next one Cheerios