Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) has proposed major amendments to its AML/CFT/CPF Regulations that would introduce IBAN-based verification, mandatory use of verified bank accounts or e-wallets, and multi-biometric authentication for fully digital onboarding of investors. The draft amendments have been issued for public consultation on the SECP website, with a 14-day window for feedback.
Under the proposed framework, IBAN verification through SECP-notified entities, including the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) via RAAST, would be accepted as valid proof of identity, subject to compliance with all AML requirements. Investors would be required to transact only through IBAN-verified bank accounts or e-wallets, a design intended to improve traceability and reduce the risk of unauthorized transactions. The amendments also introduce a multi-biometric verification system, including facial recognition, aligned with systems of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
SECP has clarified that Regulated Persons would continue to bear full responsibility for know-your-customer checks, due diligence, transaction monitoring, and anti-money-laundering compliance. The NADRA alignment gives the regulation a direct hook into the country’s national biometric infrastructure, which is already used across Pakistani banking, government services, and capital markets verification workflows.
The proposal builds on SECP’s existing digital investor onboarding program established under Circular 06 of 2023, implemented through the Central Depository Company of Pakistan’s Asaan Connect platform. Asaan Connect already integrates NADRA biometric verification and RAAST IBAN checks for a centralized onboarding mechanism; the new amendments would make these controls mandatory across digital capital market account openings rather than optional features of a specific pathway.
The framework reflects a broader expansion of Pakistan’s biometric financial infrastructure. NADRA Technologies has been expanding its biometric onboarding partnerships, most recently signing an MoU with Identity360 in April 2026. The capital markets mandate also leverages NADRA’s Nishan Pakistan unified verification platform, which consolidated the country’s identity verification APIs under a single regulated service in early 2026.
NADRA has also broadened its biometric options through a facial recognition alternative for biometric verification, introduced for citizens whose fingerprints cannot be reliably captured. That matters for an investor-onboarding mandate applied across Pakistan’s population of more than 220 million people, where fingerprint quality varies widely. SECP’s draft amendments form part of its wider “Paper to Platform” digital reform agenda aimed at digitizing regulatory processes across Pakistan’s capital markets.
Sources: The Truth International, CDC Pakistan Asaan Connect, SECP
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
