Circular No. 13 of 2020 on Acceptance of Digitally Signed Documents

Circular No. 13 of 2020 Date: 13th October, 2020 Acceptance of digitally signed documents This Circular is being issued with the aim of notifying all stakeholders of the Financial Services Authority’s (“the Authority”) acceptance of electronic documents that have been digitally signed, in accordance with the Seychelles’ legislations. The Electronic Transactions Act, 2001 provides the framework for the authentication of documents by affixing of digital signatures and the Electronic Transactions (Affixing of Digital Signature) Regulations, 2018 stipulates the requirements for foreign authorities to be recognized as Certifying Authorities. The Recognition of Foreign Certifying Authorities’ Notice published in the Official Gazette on the 14th October, 2019 provides for the list of Certifying Authorities recognized by the Controller of Certifying Authorities. In an effort to increase the efficiency of the Authority in carrying out its functions, and especially, taking into consideration the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Authority would like to inform its stakeholders that, in line with the abovementioned legislations, the Authority is accepting all correspondences that have been digitally signed with digital signatures generated using Digital Certificates issued by the following two recognized Certifying Authorities:  WISEKEY  DOCUSIGN Digital signatures generated using Digital Certificates issued by any other Certifying Authorities that have not been recognized will not be accepted. Only digital signatures from certifying authorities recognized by the Controller of Certifying Authorities and published in the Official gazette will be accepted. The use of digital signatures during these times is highly recommended by the Authority, in an attempt to reduce the risks associated with the transfer of physical documents. Moreover, given the new normal, digital signatures is the prime alternative. Financial Services Authority