The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a public consultation on its draft guidelines for the use of remote customer onboarding solutions.
According to the EBA, these guidelines set out a common understanding by competent authorities of the steps financial sector operators should take to ensure safe and effective remote customer onboarding practices in-line with applicable anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation and the EU’s data protection framework.
Once these guidelines are adopted, they will apply to all financial sector operators that are within the scope of the anti-money laundering directive.
Following the large spike in demand for remote customer onboarding solutions due to the pandemic, the EBA stated it finds it important for competent authorities and financial sector operators to understand the capabilities of the remote solutions to make the most of the possibilities they provide as well ensuring their sound and responsible use. These stakeholders should also be aware of ML/TF risks from these tools and the necessary steps to mitigate these risks, the EBA claimed.
The EBA said, “These draft guidelines set common EU standards on the development and implementation of sound, risk-sensitive initial customer due diligence policies and processes in the remote customer onboarding context. They set out the steps financial institutions should take when choosing remote customer onboarding tools and when assessing the adequacy and reliability of such tools, in order to comply effectively with their AML/CFT obligations.”
The final deadline for submission of comments is 10 March 2022.
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