We recommend following your bank’s customer identification program (CIP) regarding its requirements for opening bank accounts for non-U.S. citizens. If your current CIP does not specifically address the identification requirements for non-U.S. citizens, you may wish to update your CIP to include this information, and any revisions to your CIP must be approved by your board of directors.
At a minimum, FinCEN’s CIP regulations require you to collect the name, address, and “taxpayer identification number, passport number and country of issuance, alien identification card number, or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard” for non-U.S. persons. Consequently, we believe you may have sufficient documentation to meet FinCEN’s minimum CIP requirements for this customer.
However, as explained in FinCEN’s BSA/AML Manual, non-resident aliens generally pose more BSA/AML risks than resident aliens, as it may be more difficult to track and verify information for a customer who is living outside of the country.
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- OCC BSA Rules, 12 CFR 21.21(c) (“Establishment of a BSA compliance program
(1) Program requirement. Each national bank and each savings association shall develop and provide for the continued administration of a program reasonably designed to assure and monitor compliance with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements set forth in subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code and the implementing regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury at 31 CFR Chapter X. The compliance program must be written, approved by the national bank’s or savings association's board of directors, and reflected in the minutes of the national bank or savings association.
(2) Customer identification program. Each national bank and each savings association is subject to the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 5318(l) and the implementing regulations jointly promulgated by the OCC and the Department of the Treasury at 31 CFR 1020.220, which require a customer identification program to be implemented as part of the BSA compliance program required under this section.”)
- FinCEN Regulations, 31 CFR 1020.220(a)(2)(i)(A) (“The bank must obtain, at a minimum, the following information from the customer prior to opening an account: (1) Name; (2) Date of birth, for an individual; (3) Address, which shall be: (i) For an individual, a residential or business street address . . . and (4) Identification number, which shall be: . . . (ii) For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: A taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance
- FinCEN Regulations, 31 CFR 1010.100(iii) (“U.S. person. (1) A United States citizen; or (2) A person other than an individual (such as a corporation, partnership or trust), that is established or organized under the laws of a State or the United States. Non-U.S. person means a person that is not a U.S. person.”)
- FinCEN BSA/AML Manual, Risks Associated with Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Individuals (“Foreign individuals maintaining relationships with U.S. banks can be divided into two categories: resident aliens and nonresident aliens. For definitional purposes, an NRA is a non-U.S. citizen who: (i) is not a lawful permanent resident of the United States during the calendar year and who does not meet the substantial presence test, or (ii) has not been issued an alien registration receipt card, also known as a green card. . . . Banks may find it more difficult to verify and authenticate an NRA accountholder’s identification, source of funds, and source of wealth, which may result in BSA/AML risks.”)