SEBI's major initiative to prevent online fraud: Know the authentic broker's identity before making UPI payments

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched a new initiative to prevent online fraud and promote safe investments. With the @valid UPI handle and the SEBI Check tool, SEBI is promoting secure payments.

SEBI Check Tool: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched a new initiative to prevent online fraud and promote safe investments. SEBI has introduced two new features. With the @valid UPI handle and the SEBI Check tool, SEBI is providing investors with a secure payment option to mutual funds, shares, and other securities. This ensures that investors' funds go only to SEBI-authorized entities and brokers, protecting them from online fraud.

What is the @valid UPI handle?

All brokers and mutual fund companies registered with SEBI will use a UPI handle that ends with @valid. This will indicate that the broker or institution has been approved by SEBI. ".brk" will be used to identify brokers and ".mf" for institutions.

Also, when making payments using the @valid UPI handle, a thumbs-up symbol will appear in a green triangle, indicating that your funds are going to a SEBI-registered broker or institution. For example, a broker's UPI ID would look like abc.brk@validsbi, and a mutual fund's would look like abc.mf@validsbi. However, SEBI has reported that more than 90 percent of brokers and mutual fund institutions already use it.

SEBI Check Tool

Under the SEBI Check Tool, investors can check their broker's UPI ID before investing by visiting SEBI's Sarathi app or the SEBI website. This UPI ID is created using the broker's @valid UPI ID, account number, and IFSC code. SEBI stated that this step will help reduce fraud and ensure secure payments for investors.

Investors will benefit

This step by SEBI will benefit investors and help them avoid online fraud. Small investors will benefit the most. With the system becoming transparent, it will be easier to identify genuine brokers and mutual fund companies, ensuring investors' money reaches the right destination. Investors simply need to keep these things in mind when investing.