New Arrangements For Online Filing With CIMA From January 2015

GRAND CAYMAN (Monday, 22 December 2014) Entities regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) will soon have access to a new online, automated method for submissions of mandatory financial returns, change requests and new licence applications.  While this will be phased in slowly, it is expected that once an application or filing is available online, it will become the only approved method for submission of that form and paper based applications will no longer be accepted. 

The new system is called REEFS, which stands for Regulatory Enhanced Electronic Forms Submission.

The portal, https://reefs.cimaconnect.com, will go live on the Authority’s website from the beginning of the new year. 

The first phase of this new process will begin on 5 January 2015 for persons whose information is intended for the Insurance Supervision and Fiduciary Services divisions. Persons filing financial returns, change requests and new licence applications with the Banking Supervision and the Investments and Securities divisions will then be added in the second phase of the project.

Each licensee and registrant will be provided with user credentials to facilitate this process. Instructions and usage procedures will be available on the Authority’s website as well as some in-person “train the trainer” sessions to be held by CIMA.

Head of the Information Systems Division, Charles “Chuck” Thompson, explains that, “This will be a one-stop messaging and notification centre. Selected representatives from Industry have been invited to test the system prior to its full implementation and to provide feedback so that we can tweak it to ensure a seamless transition from manual to on-line filing.” 

Managing Director, Mrs. Cindy Scotland, says, “This is part of the Authority’s effort to enhance the licensing and registration process for our licensees and registrants, as well as to increase internal efficiency. On-line filing will improve our data-collection considerably.”

Online payments and Escrow processing will be a part of the phased implementation and are expected to be available by mid-year. The initial rollout will still require payment by cheque.