Banks to accept driver’s licenses as proof of address, remove other burdens to doing business

The Bank of Guyana on Tuesday said it is currently simplifying the due diligence measures required by commercial banks for the opening and maintenance of accounts at Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs).

The BoG in a statement said for low-risk customers “these simplified measures would include the acceptance of one form of identification document, either national identification card, passport, or a driver’s licence.”

The Central Bank added that “in instances where the identity document contains the details of a customers’ address, such document may also be acceptable for proof of address and there will be no requirement for annual submission of these documents to the LFIs.”

This comes as the bank reviews the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) requirements.

In addition, the requirements for medium and high-risk customers will also be revisited with a view of enhancing the risk-rating framework for these categories.

These measures which will confirm to the Financial Action Task Force recommendations are intended to reduce the burden on individuals who had previously faced challenges in securing the requisite documentary requirements for the opening and operating of accounts, the bank said.

The BoG said it always strived to foster greater financial inclusion as is evident by these and other measures including the issuance of Circular No. 53/2018 which provided for reduced due diligence measures for small savers “which are natural persons with monthly deposits up to $500,000”.