Know your customer
aml? without the paperwork? really? A less painful and more efficient process for client checks is on the horizon – but Getting there will be difficult Words: Paul Bryant
30 march/april 2019
WE’VE ALL BEEN through the pain of
collating documents to open a bank account – copies of passports, utility bills, payslips and so on. So, imagine how much more complicated the process will be for offshore clients of Channel Islands private banks or investment funds. These are often high or ultra-high-net-worth individuals, or institutions, with complicated affairs structured through trusts or corporations. And imagine their frustration when they have to go through the same process all over again when they make their next investment, with a different bank or fund. It’s tempting to vent at the financial services providers, but they are only fulfilling their legal obligations. In industry jargon, they are conducting anti-moneylaundering or AML checks. (‘KYC’, or know-your-customer, and ‘onboarding’ are
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