EBA consults on new remote customer onboarding guidelines

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on its draft Guidelines on the use of remote customer onboarding solutions. These Guidelines set out a common understanding by competent authorities of the steps financial sector operators should take to ensure safe and effective remote customer onboarding practices in line with applicable anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation and the EU’s data protection framework. Once adopted, these Guidelines will apply to all financial sector operators that are within the scope of the Anti-money Laundering Directive (AMLD). This consultation runs until 10 March 2022.

 Financial Institutions have seen a growing demand for remote customer onboarding solutions. This trend was exacerbated by restrictions on movement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the EBA considers it important for competent authorities and financial sector operators to understand the capabilities of these new remote solutions to make the most of the opportunities they offer, and at the same time, to support their sound and responsible use, as well as to be aware of ML/TF risks arising from the use of such tools and taking steps to mitigate those risks effectively.

These draft Guidelines set common EU standards on the development and implementation of sound, risk-sensitive initial customer due diligence (CDD) policies and processes in the remote customer onboarding context. They set out the steps financial institutions should take when choosing remote customer onboarding tools and when assessing the adequacy and reliability of such tools, in order to comply effectively with their AML/CFT obligations.

Consultation process

Comments to the two consultations can be sent to the EBA by clicking on the "send your comments" button on the respective consultation pages. Please note that the deadline for the submission of comments is 10 March 2022.

A public hearing will take place via conference call on 24 February 2022 from 11:00 to 12:30.

All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation, unless requested otherwise.

Legal basis and background

These Guidelines have been developed in response to the European Commission’s request in the context of its Digital Finance Strategy, published in 2020. They are also in line with the EBA’s legal mandate to lead, coordinate and monitor the EU financial sector’s fight against ML/TF.