Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 July 2022
174. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Finance the provisions that are in place for Ukrainian nationals to open bank accounts despite not having documentation such as a utility bill in their name; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36923/22]
View answerThe EU Payment Accounts Directive, which was transposed in Ireland by the Payment Accounts Regulations 2016, introduced the right for any consumer who is legally resident in the European Union and who does not already have a payment account with a credit institution in the State to open and use a payment account with basic features.
The Directive explicitly states that a consumer who is legally resident in the European Union has this right regardless of his or her place of residence and regardless of whether he or she has a fixed address, is an asylum seeker, or is a consumer who has not been granted a residence permit but whose expulsion is not possible for legal or practical reasons.
Credit and financial institutions (firms) are obliged to identify and verify their customer’s identity on the basis of documents or information that they have reasonable grounds to believe can be relied upon to confirm the identify of their customer. Institutions often use official documents, like passports or driving licences in order to verify a customer’s identity. However neither the relevant legislation (Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, as amended, nor the Central Bank of Ireland are prescriptive as to what documents and information can be relied upon.
Accordingly firms have some flexibility in this regard, including in situations where an asylum seeker or refugee may be unable to provide traditional forms of identity documentation.
While providing asylum seekers or refugees with access to financial products and services can create challenges for institutions where the identity of such persons cannot be verified on the basis of ‘traditional’ forms of identification like passports or driving licences, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has previously issued Guidance on this point which provides that official identity documents issued by an EU Member State to asylum seekers/refugees which confirms their status and right to reside in that EU Member State are likely to satisfy the verification requirement.
In addition, the Payment Accounts Directive provides that credit institutions cannot refuse the opening of payment account unless the opening of the account or its subsequent use would result in a breach of national law transposing the applicable Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Directive, for example, because the credit institution cannot manage the Money Laundering (ML)/ Terrorism- Financing (TF) risk associated with the business relationship.
The EBA’s Guidance provides that a situation where an asylum seeker can only provide less robust evidence of identity, is unlikely to be sufficient AML/CFT grounds to refuse the opening of an account, given that it is likely that the firm could manage the ML/TF risks presented by such a prospective customer by ensuring that only a basic payment account is offered, for example with no overdraft facility and with monthly turnover/transfer limits.
In 2021 the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), in conjunction with a number of retail Banks, issued guidance to assist asylum seekers and refugees on opening a bank account in Ireland, which included information on the type of non-standard documentation, including state issued documents, that will be accepted as forms of identification when opening an account. This information can be found here - bpfi.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Final-BPFI-Guide-to-Opening-Bank-Accounts-in-Ireland-for-Protection-Applicants-Final.pdf.
In addition to this the BPFI via the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection have provided information booklets on opening a bank account in Ireland to Ukrainians at entry points into the country, the booklet is available in both Ukrainian and Russian languages.
Full lists of accepted proof of identity and address documents and information on how to open a bank account for Ukrainian citizens coming to Ireland can be found on each of the retail banks websites. Anyone who is unsure of how to meet the identification requirements should inquire with the bank of their choice on what would be acceptable as proof of residence.
