The Financial Services Authority of the Seychelles is accepting all correspondences that have been signed with digital signatures that were generated using Digital Certificates issued by Wisekey and Docusign, bodies that the Government has dubbed 'certifying authorities.'

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 recognised as certifying authorities. The Recognition of Foreign Certifying Authorities’ Notice published in the Official Gazette on 14th October 2019 provides for the list of certifying authorities recognised by the Controller of Certifying Authorities.  

The regulator has made its announcement "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 has added: "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."