The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority’s Regulatory Enhanced Electronic Forms Submission (REEFS) system seems to have transformed the way in which the regulator can manage information, with massive take-up since it became available in January 2015.

The document management system has been facilitating the online submission of information by industry users since its inception. More apps have been added on since then, some of them at least party built in-house. Through the online system, users are able to file and track new licence applications electronically, submit requests for changes in ownership, control, registered office, the cancellation of licences tec. Another feature includes the online Fund Annual Return application module which allows practitioners to send in their returns electronically, avoiding the costs associated with physical documents. The average time it takes the regulators to respond to a fund annual return has gone down as well. The user can now complete his submission in one step, or through the use of "segregated duties workflow." He can also track relevant fees and complete payments on Escrow, CIMA’s new online fee payment portal.

Although hardly anyone uses Escrow yet, it lets users monitor upcoming fees and make payments while avoiding any processing delays and ought to prove popular in future. This new feature came online late 2017 last year.

REEFS has also enabled the regulators to collect statistical data in a more timely manner, which is good for prudential management and much more besides.