Customer Identification (Dictionary Entry)

CIAM, Financial Industry, IAM, Regulation

Customer Identification

The process of a financial institution that consists in determining who the (future) customer is.

R. 10 requires that countries identify their customers and use “reliable and independent source documents, data or information” (identification data) to verify identity. It is essential to distinguish between identifying the customer and verifying identification. Customer identification will enable the financial institution to know who the (future) customer is. At this stage, no identification documentation or data is collected. In contrast, the verification of the customer identification requires checking reliable, independent source documentation, data or information that confirms the veracity of the identifying information that was obtained during the identification process.

• FATF and OECD, 2017

• Customer Due Diligence (Dictionary Entry)

• Customer Identity (Dictionary Entry)

• Customer Identity Verification (Dictionary Entry)