FinMin Enables ICICI, Groww, Upstox as Reporting Entities under PMLA Aadhaar Authentication Framework
India’s Aadhaar-linked digital financial verification architecture continues to expand, with new entrants from the Securities market.
The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, issued two separate notifications on the 27th of May, 2026, authorising multiple private financial entities, including Groww Mutual Fund, ICICI Securities Limited, and Upstox to perform Aadhaar authentication as per the provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The department issued the notifications in exercise...
The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, issued two separate notifications on the 27th of May, 2026, authorising multiple private financial entities, including Groww Mutual Fund, ICICI Securities Limited, and Upstox to perform Aadhaar authentication as per the provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The department issued the notifications in exercise of powers under the proviso to Section 11A(1) of the PMLA.
Under Notification No. S.O. 2669(E), the Central Government authorised the following reporting entities to perform Aadhaar authentication under the Aadhaar Act for the purposes of Section 11A of the PMLA:
- Groww Mutual Fund
- ICICI Securities Limited
- Upstox Securities Private Limited
- Cybrilla Technologies Private Limited
- Aaritya Broking Private Limited
Separately, through Notification No. S.O. 2668(E), the Government also authorised Bima Sugam India Federation (BSIF) to undertake Aadhaar authentication under the same statutory framework.
The Central Government has empowered them after being satisfied that the concerned reporting entities are compliant with the privacy and security standards prescribed under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
The approvals were granted after consultation with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and sectoral regulators. In the case of securities market intermediaries, consultation was undertaken with the Securities andExchange Board of India (SEBI), while the BSIF notification records consultation with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
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What Section 11A of PMLA Means
Section 11A of the PMLA permits “reporting entities” to verify the identity of clients through Aadhaar authentication subject to statutory safeguards and regulatory approvals. Reporting entities under the anti-money laundering regime are required to undertake customer due diligence, maintain records of transactions, monitor suspicious financial activity and furnish information to financial intelligence authorities wherever mandated.
Not Entirely New to Securities Markets
While the notifications are significant from a regulatory standpoint, Aadhaar-enabled KYC and identity verification are not entirely new to India’s securities and investment ecosystem.
Major securities and investment entities including Zerodha, Kotak Securities, HDFC Securities, Axis Securities, NSDL, CDSL, Paytm Money and multiple banks, NBFCs and mutual fund intermediaries already operate within Aadhaar-linked KYC verification frameworks, and SEBI-regulated onboarding systems.
The present notifications are reflective of the growing convergence between governmental regulatory functions and private financial infrastructure. Over the years, private fintech companies, brokerages, investment platforms and digital financial intermediaries have increasingly become operational participants within state-backed compliance systems involving identity verification, transaction monitoring, anti-money laundering enforcement and financial intelligence reporting.
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