The central question: Speed of service

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Investors can now send a common service request for all their mutual fund schemes through a newly launched platform called MFCentral, which is launched jointly by KFintech and CAMS. It is a welcome move as it standardises processes so that service requests can get uploaded automatically across folio levels. It will, however, be fully functional by December 2021 facilitating even buying and selling from the platform. Though MF Utility, a platform equally owned by MF companies, is already providing the same set of services, the inclusion of  Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTA) has brought efficiency, which will help the mutual fund market to grow further. On the first day if the launch, a few glitches were noticed. Investors were not able to view their full portfolios on MF Central. Hopefully, these issues will be resolved soon by the stakeholders.

The platform offers a variety of non-financial services ranging from change of bank account details, update of an email id, change of mobile number, consolidation of folios, updating nominee details, correction of erroneous data, status modification from minor to major, among others. Sebi issued a circular on July 21, 2021, asking RTAs to develop a common platform for servicing mutual fund customers jointly. RTAs handles record maintenance for mutual fund companies.

The new platform offers a near real-time resolution across schemes. Now if you wish to change a bank account or add a nominee you can do it smoothly by signing up in MFCentral. Though, currently, MF Utility, a platform equally owned by MF companies under the aegis of Amfi, is already providing the same set of services the inclusion of RTAs has brought efficiency. However, in MF Utility, you need to open a Common Account Number or CAN for carrying out transactions.

The launch of MFCentral is a welcome initiative by Sebi, as the increase in awareness along with seamless digital services will help the industry to grow further.