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Deadline for customer identity verification to be extended by three months
Government responds favourably to request by banks…
– Finance Minister
Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh yesterday announced that, in response to representations made by a number of licensed financial institutions operating in Guyana, Government will be exercising its option under section 15 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 to grant the maximum permissible extension of three months to the current 9th May deadline for banks to verify the identity of their existing customers, thereby establishing 9th August as the new statutory deadline.
Section 15 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 requires reporting entities that fall under the Act, such as licensed financial institutions, to adequately verify the identity of their customers, including in the case of customers that are natural persons, their name, date of birth, address, and national identification card, passport, or other applicable official identifying document. In the case of existing customers at the time of the coming into force of the Act on 9th November 2009, section 15 gives reporting entities a period of six months to obtain and verify the required information from their customers. This six month period would have expired on 9th May 2010. In anticipation of its expiry, a number of banks had written Government seeking an extension to the deadline, which is permissible under the Act up to a maximum of an additional three months.
Under the provisions of the Act, the extension of the deadline is formally granted by an Order issued under the hand of the Attorney General. To this end, Minister Singh stated that he has informed Attorney General Charles Ramson of his support for the requested extension, and that the Attorney General has duly considered the matter, and has indicated that he would be issuing the necessary Order granting the extension early in the coming week.
The requirement to verify customer identity information has led to the locally licensed banks embarking on large scale exercises to update their customer information databases, and a number of institutions have launched public relations campaigns, and have written their customers encouraging them to submit the required information within the deadline.
Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh
Notwithstanding Government’s approval of the extended deadline, the Minister also took the opportunity to emphasise the importance of customers ensuring that they submit the required information to their Banks as soon as possible. The Minister pointed out that it is clearly and overwhelmingly in the interest of the customer that financial institutions with which they conduct business are in possession of their full identification and contact details. Apart from the requirements of the anti-money laundering legislation, this information allows financial institutions to better protect and safeguard the interests of their customers in obvious ways, including by using more robust means to verify the validity of transaction requests and to restrict access to information.
At the same time, Minister Singh also urged banks to ensure that the process by which they seek and obtain the required information from their customers be simplified and made as efficient as possible. For example, the Minister suggested that banks may wish to have a dedicated desk or counter for receiving this information, thus minimising the time spent and delays encountered by customers when they visit a branch to submit the information. Similarly, Minister Singh pointed out that banks would need to pay particular attention to arrangements for customers who might reside in areas which are not served by a nearby bank branch, in hinterland communities, or indeed overseas, and to ensure that adequate arrangements are also made to enable such customers to comply with the requirements. Minister Singh also urged banks to sustain and intensify their ongoing campaigns to ensure full compliance in the shortest possible time.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act was passed by the National Assembly with widespread support in April 2009, after having been the subject of detailed consideration by a Parliamentary Select Committee that was chaired by Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh.
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