Vol. 547 No. 1
385 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Finance if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 201 of 21 February 2001, a free travel pass will suffice as identification for persons to open a bank account; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1056/02]
I indicated in my reply to the Deputy's question on 21 February 2001 that the 1995 guidance notes were under review. The issue of customer identification procedures, including the setting out of more specific guidance on alternative methods of identification in cases where persons are not in a position to produce a passport or driving licence, were considered. The objective was to ensure that measures adopted by institutions should not deny a person access to financial services on the grounds that they do not possess specified identification documentation, while at the same time ensuring that financial institutions are in a position to comply with their legal obligations under the Act. Following approval by the money laundering steering committee, revised guidance notes were issued to all credit institutions in November 2001 with a request that revised procedures be put in place as soon as possible, but no later than 1 May 2002.
While the revised guidance notes provide additional examples of documents which may be used to verify identity at account opening, the basic recommendation to credit institutions is that they should verify a customer's name by seeking a document which bears a photograph and signature. Wherever possible, a current valid full passport should be requested. There are also other documents that a customer might produce as evidence of identity and each credit institution should decide on the appropriateness of such documents, in the light of other security procedures operated and information available at account opening. If a person cannot satisfy this requirement, the credit institution may adopt alternative identification procedures. Under these procedures, an identification form with a photograph signed by a Garda or documentation or cards issued by a Government Department showing the name of the person, together with a letter or statement from a person of responsibility, such as a solicitor, accountant, doctor, minister of religion, teacher, social worker or community employment scheme supervisor, who is in a position to confirm the person's identity to the credit institution, may be accepted. In such circumstances the person providing the letter or statement must present themselves to the relevant credit institution providing proof of their own identity and verifying their status to the credit institution. A free travel pass issued by a Government Department would need to be accompanied by a letter or statement from a person of responsibility as outlined above. Such a travel pass could also be used to satisfy the requirement for address verification.
I should stress that it is a matter for each institution to ensure that its procedures satisfy the legal requirement, under the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, that financial institutions take reasonable measures to identify their customers.
