International Customer Verification
Remote international clients and beneficial owners probably cost the MLRO the most time, effort and uncertainty in the due diligence process. We can help with your international customer verification process and ensure they are compliant with the latest AML regulations.
Typically it involves the customer getting documentation notarised in their country of residence, at an average cost of around £150. They must then send this notarised copy to your MLRO. Sometimes the notary information is not in English and needs translation. Other times there is the problem of verifying the notary against local listings.
As with all paper-based verification systems, there are no standard checks against sanctions and PEP’s or any other alerts.
Not all international countries have a central quality database so there is no way to verify an individual at their international address.
International Customer Verification with SmartSearch
SmartSearch are able to offer a simple document verification service which includes PEP & sanction screening and monitoring. There are four options available:
- Advanced Check
To perform this check, the document must have a “Machine-Readable Zone” (MRZ). It uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to match the details of the documents to the individual’s details you have entered. - Advanced Check with Facial Recognition
This check is an Advanced Check with the additional verification level of facial recognition. - Expert Check
An ID Document Expert checks the document. They will physically look at the image of the document to verify if it is genuine. - Expert Check with Facial Recognition
This check is an Expert Check with the additional verification level of facial recognition. Please see our How To… Conduct Facial Recognition on an International Individual Search
International Customer ID Theft and Fraud
As with all remote customers there is always the risk of impersonation fraud. To manage that risk, you must make additional checks. These include:
Perform a nominal payment from an account held in the customer’s name. This could simply involve processing a £1 payment for recovering the cost of the search.
Establish telephone contact, or a perform a “welcome call”, with the customer to verify aspects of the information they have already provided.
In addition, establish a written communication with the customer at the address they provide. This could be a simple “letter of engagement” or a duty of care letter which would require acknowledgement and / or return.
Document Requirements for International Customer Verification
- Images can be JPG, TIFF or PDF.
- All images must be colour.
- Images must not be greater than 5mb and must be a minimum of 300dpi.
- Images must be original scans or copies – photocopies of scans will not be of sufficient quality.
- If a document has 2 sides, e.g. a driving licence or ID Card, both front and reverse must be uploaded. If only one side is loaded, the check cannot be completed and you will still be charged.
- A PDF must be clean i.e. there must not be any writing on a pdf next to the image.
Contact Us
Please contact us to discuss how we can help with your international client verification needs. We can offer a competitive quote.