FSCA DRAFT NOTICE ON ADVANCED ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES
Board Notice 92 of 2014 requires all Managers in terms of the Collective Investment Scheme Control Act, 45 of 2002 (CISCA) to obtain from an investor a signed application form or contract, which constitutes the agreement between the investor and the Manager. BN 92 of 2014 does not specify the type of signature that is required (electronic or otherwise) and therefore, if the Manager wishes to make use of electronic signatures, an advanced electronic signature (AES) must be obtained in term of section 13(1) of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 52 of 2002 (ECTA).
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) recognizes the difficulties that Managers may experience in obtaining AES that comply with the technical requirements of ECTA, and therefore proposes to exempt Managers from the requirement to obtain an AES when receiving electronic application forms or contracts from investors.