Understanding CDSL, NSDL, CAMS, and KFintech CAS Formats

What Is a CAS?

A CAS (Consolidated Account Statement) is a single document that consolidates all your investment holdings. In India, CAS statements are issued by depositories (CDSL, NSDL) and mutual fund registrars (CAMS, KFintech).

The Four CAS Types

CDSL CAS

Source: Central Depository Services Limited Contains: All securities held in your CDSL demat account

Equities (stocks)
Mutual funds (demat mode)
Corporate bonds
Government securities (G-Secs)
Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)
Life insurance policies (demat units)
NPS (National Pension System)

Password: Typically your encrypted PAN Frequency: Monthly or on-demand via CDSL website

NSDL CAS

Source: National Securities Depository Limited Contains: Same asset classes as CDSL, but for NSDL demat accounts

**CDSL and NSDL eCAS statements contain holdings from both depositories.** A CDSL eCAS includes NSDL holdings and vice versa — it's a consolidated view across all depositories, not limited to the issuing one. You don't need to request separately from each.

CAMS CAS

Source: Computer Age Management Services (mutual fund registrar) Contains: Non-demat mutual fund holdings for all fund houses (CAMS and KFintech)

Complete transaction history (purchases, redemptions, SIPs, switches)
Transaction history can go back 50+ years
Transaction data enables capital gains and XIRR calculations
CAMS directly services ~60% of mutual fund industry by AUM, but due to the data-sharing partnership with KFintech, a CAMS CAS covers 100% of mutual funds

KFintech CAS

Source: KFin Technologies (mutual fund registrar) Contains: Non-demat mutual fund holdings for all fund houses (KFintech and CAMS)

Same data structure as CAMS — both RTAs share data internally
KFintech directly services ~40% of mutual fund industry by AUM, but due to the data-sharing partnership with CAMS, a KFintech CAS covers 100% of mutual funds
Also supports 50+ years of transaction history

**CAMS and KFintech have a mutual partnership for data sharing and consolidation.** A CAS generated by either RTA contains the complete mutual fund portfolio across both — you don't need to request separately from each. CASParser's CAS Generator (`POST /v4/generate`) leverages this partnership to retrieve all mutual fund data in a single request.

Why You Need Multiple CAS Types

A complete investor portfolio typically requires:

CDSL CAS (or NSDL CAS) - For demat holdings (equities, bonds, AIFs). Either one contains holdings from both depositories.
CAMS CAS (or KFintech CAS) - For non-demat mutual fund holdings. Either one covers all MFs thanks to the CAMS+KFintech data-sharing partnership.
KFintech CAS - Alternative to CAMS CAS (same coverage, different source)

How CASParser Handles This

CASParser’s smart parse endpoint (/v4/smart/parse) auto-detects the CAS type and returns a unified JSON response regardless of source. You don’t need to know which type of CAS the user uploaded - the API handles it automatically.

All four CAS types return the same response structure:

meta - CAS type, statement date
investor - Name, PAN, email
summary - Total value, account counts
demat_accounts - Holdings by asset class
mutual_funds - Folio-level details with transactions
insurance - Policy details
nps - Pension account details

CAS Password Formats

Each CAS type uses a different password format:

CDSL: Encrypted PAN (varies by statement date)
NSDL: Encrypted PAN
CAMS: PAN number (plain)
KFintech: User-defined password (min 8 characters, must include uppercase, lowercase, number, and special character)

CASParser handles all password formats automatically - just pass the password and we figure out the rest.

Getting Started

Use the smart parse endpoint to parse any CAS type with a single API call. Or try the Portfolio Connect UI SDK which handles file upload and password entry in a user-friendly modal.

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