SEC orders Registrars to start using e-DMMS portal

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has instructed every Registrar to immediately commence the use of the e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS) portal as directives will soon be issued to banks to discontinue the verification of paper mandates presented to their branches.

SEC had launched e-DMMS portal on 29 July 2015 after which trainings were held for staff and members of the banking and registrars community on how to use the platform.

In statement on its website on Monday, SEC said, “We are happy to inform you that the system (e-DMMS) is now ready for use by all Banks and Registrars.”

It further noted that: “All Registrars’ offices/accredited outlets shall be points of upload of completed e-Dividend Mandate forms by investors who may alternatively approach their Banker to process their completed e-Dividend Mandate Form(s).

“Every Registrar shall validate investor’s Shareholder Account Number, Name, Signature and Clearing House Number (CHN). This shall be followed with upload of scanned copy of completed e-Dividend Mandate Form(s) on to the portal for immediate access by the investor’s nominated Bank for the verification of his/her Bank account details. Registrars shall exercise caution when validating names generated by the system for the Clearing House Number, Shareholder Account Number and Bank Account Number against the physical form to ensure there is a reasonable level of congruence before the document is accepted and saved on the portal.

“Investors should be educated to complete separate forms for each shareholder account number, as upload of e-Dividend Mandate Forms shall be on the basis of individual shareholder number and company of investment indicated by the investor on the physical e-Dividend Mandate Form.

“The receiving bank may reject the mandate uploaded by Presenting Registrars if the signature on the mandate does not tally with the specimen signature of the account holder in the Bank.

“To mitigate errors in the treatment of e-Dividend Mandate Forms, Registrars shall institute a marker-checker system that enables the verification and upload of e-Dividend Mandate Form(s) by a Registrar Uploader subject to confirmation and approval by a Registrar Checker

“Where Banks uploads e-Dividend Mandates to Registrars for investor detail validation, such mandates must be confirmed by the Receiving Registrar Authoriser within 72 hours (3 days) of transmission by the Presenting Bank Authorizer.

“The SEC has also advised that for seamless integration and use of the portal, the NIBSS should be contacted for the required integration requirements and access rights to the portal or any further clarifications required towards a smooth operation of the new system.”