Your mutual fund investments currently have to be paid for from your own bank account. SEBI is now considering a relaxation to this rule. In a consultation paper issued on May 20, the regulator has proposed allowing third-party payments in specific situations, including investments made through salary deductions, commission paid to mutual fund distributors in units, and donations routed through mutual funds. The proposal is aimed at making genuine transactions easier while retaining checks against fraud and money laundering. For investors, the most relevant change may be the ability to invest through payroll, provided the final safeguards protect their interests.What is SEBI trying to do through its consultation paper on enabling third party payments in mutual funds?At present, mutual fund investments have to be paid for from the investor’s own bank account. SEBI is now considering whether this rule can be relaxed in a few limited situations where another party makes the payment, but the investment still belongs to, or benefits, an identified investor or beneficiary.The consultation paper proposes allowing third-party payments in three cases:
An employer deducts money from an employee’s salary and invests it in mutual fund schemes chosen by that employee.
