The legislation of Moldova will directly provide for the remote identification of clients - the NBM.
This was announced by the National Bank of Moldova, noting that this and a number of other changes in the field of preventing and combating money laundering and financing of terrorism (AML / CFT), which will allow all transactions with clients of financial organizations to be carried out online, were adopted by the parliament in the final reading. They were developed with USAID support. The amendments provide for the possibility of widespread use of remote methods for identifying customers by electronic means - a qualified electronic signature or photo / video identification. According to the NBM, at present, the regulatory framework is not enough to provide financial institutions with the freedom to use customer identification procedures using non-face-to-face methods. This fact represents an obstacle, especially for Moldovan citizens abroad, when establishing business relations or making certain transactions that require the physical presence of the beneficiary. Improving the regulatory framework for remote identification procedures, also known as eKYC (Electronic Know Your Customer), in particular at the level of primary legislation, will contribute to increasing the digitalization of this process and, accordingly, will allow all transactions with customers to be carried out online. This will save time and resources of the client, facilitating interaction with financial institutions. Vladimir Munteanu, First Vice-President of the NBM in charge of AML/CFT, noted that E-KYC makes it possible to effectively verify the identity of the client using digital means, which facilitates the access of clients to financial services. However, as with any new technology, there are potential risks and issues that need to be addressed. “This is why it is important that e-KYC is effectively regulated to ensure the safe use of financial services and products,” he noted. As emphasized by the NBM, in the same package of amendments, adopted in the final reading by the Parliament of Moldova, there are new provisions regarding precautionary measures in relation to clients, determining the source of property or keeping records of transactions. Another provision concerns the application of enhanced precautionary measures to residents of jurisdictions that are under the monitoring of relevant international organizations. The new provisions will come into effect on July 1. In this case, the supervisory authorities will have 6 months from the date of publication of the law to adjust their by-laws and develop new amendments for application adopted by the supreme legislative body. Currently, the National Bank of Moldova, which aims to carry out a number of activities in the field of preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing (AML / CFT), is implementing, with the support of the USAID FSTA project, a modern IT solution that will allow monitoring money laundering risks and the structure of shareholders banks. Also, with the support of the USAID FSTA project, the National Bank conducted a number of thematic trainings for employees of the institution and supervised organizations. // 30.03.2023 — InfoMarket
