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Regulations on Customer Identification in the Banking Sector in French Polynesia

To obtain an international banking license from the FPFSA, a company must first ensure that its activities can be defined as a banking operation. According to the International Banking Law, Chapter 99 of the Revised Laws of French Polynesia, 2009, a banking activity is defined as:

  • Accepting funds by accepting monetary deposits repayable on demand or after notification, and any similar operation
  • Selling or issuing obligations, certificates, bills, or other securities and using them entirely or partially for loans or placements for the account of the client
  • Any other activity recognized by the Central Bank or Authority as a usual banking practice that financial institutions may also be authorized to engage in

Before starting to exercise banking activities, the company must obtain a license from FPFSA. The FPFSA grants two classes of international bank licenses:

Classes of Licenses

  • Class A: International banks with capital requirements of $3 million USD and a statutory deposit of $500,000 USD
  • Class B: International banks with capital requirements of $0.5 million USD and a statutory deposit of $100,000 USD

Note that to obtain a Class B license, the holder must maintain fully paid-up capital of $500,000 USD or its equivalent in another currency, and deposit or invest $100,000 USD in accordance with FPFSA’s prescribed manner. New clients obtained after licensing must also be approved by FPFSA.

Inspections

All international banks are subject to on-site inspections at least once every 12-18 months.

Additional Requirements

Here are some important points for each class of international bank:

  • Class A: A non-refundable application fee of $1,000 USD is payable, as well as fully paid-up capital of $3 million USD or its equivalent in another currency. Class A banks must also deposit or invest $500,000 USD in accordance with the Authority’s prescribed manner.
  • Class B: A non-refundable application fee of $1,000 USD is payable, as well as fully paid-up capital of $500,000 USD or its equivalent in another currency. Class B banks must also deposit or invest $100,000 USD in accordance with the Authority’s prescribed manner.

Application Process

The application process is expected to take between 4 and 6 weeks, subject to all relevant documents being submitted at the same time.