ICICIdirect Launches ‘Insta Account’, a Paperless Account Opening Facility for Mutual Fund Investors

ICICI Securities, India's largest online investment service provider, today announced the launch of ‘Insta Account’, a completely online and paperless investment account. 

A Resident Indian who is KYC compliant as stipulated by SEBI can open an Insta Account on www.icicidirect.com to invest in Indian Mutual Funds. The investor has the freedom to use any of their existing internet banking account.

With the Insta Account, investors also get the opportunity to explore and experience the range of benefits offered by ICICIdirect to its existing customers.

ICICI Securities has made the account opening formalities convenient by streamlining the process with the existing KYC formalities, thus eliminating the inconvenience and lengthy process of filing and submitting paper documents. There are no charges to open an Insta Account on www.icicidirect.com

Launching the new account, Mr. Vineet Arora, Executive Vice President ICICI Securities “Today internet and smartphones have provided customers the convenience of taking decisions instantaneously – from shopping for groceries to selecting a house, everything is done on the go. At ICICIdirect, we want people to take informed investment decisions on the go; safely and conveniently irrespective of their geographic location in India. With an ICICIdirect Insta Account, we have done away with the traditional way of paper documents and we have ensured ease and convenience to investors by leveraging the efficiency of technology. Investors who are already KYC compliant would be able to use any of their existing internet banking account to make an investment and utilize the in-depth research reports for their mutual fund investment.”

Insta Account investors get the following benefits:

a) Access to an in-depth research

b) Decisive Capital-gain status and statements

c) Dividend income information

d) A comprehensive analysis report showing the asset-mix, performance and the underlying information of the mutual fund investments.

KYC compliance is mandatory to transact in the securities market as stipulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In case the applicant is not KYC compliant, ICICIdirect team will assist the investor in completing the formalities.

To open an account an investor simply needs to follow three simple steps:

1. Provide the investors Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Date of Birth (DoB)

2. Verify the name and contact details and generate a one-time password (OTP)

3. Authenticate using the OTP and create User-id and password

Post opening an Insta Account, the investor who has an existing ICICI Bank account can start investing instantly. Investors wanting to use any other bank account just need to scan and upload copy of that bank’s cheque. On successful verification the investor can use their internet banking account to make the investment using their ICICIdirect Insta Account.

“We believe that this eco-friendly way of investing will improve the experience of investors wanting to access and benefit from the long term growth of the equity capital market through the mutual fund route. We want to encourage more investors, especially across non-urban Indian areas  with fewer access points to opt for the Insta Account route and not put their investments on hold due to lack of time, “added Mr Arora.

About ICICI Securities:

ICICI Securities is one of the largest integrated securities firms in India covering the needs of corporate and retail customers through investment banking, institutional broking, retail broking and financial product distribution businesses. ICICIdirect.com has over 3.5 million customers and is a leading player in online and offline financial product distribution.