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Financial Institutions Must Meet Strict Identification Requirements

In a bid to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, financial institutions in Fiji are required to implement strict identification measures when onboarding new customers. According to the Financial Transactions Reporting Act Guideline 4, these institutions must verify the identity of their customers using reliable documents that contain specific information.

Minimum Details Required

To confirm a customer’s identity, financial institutions must obtain at least the following minimum details:

  • Customer’s name and address
  • Referee’s name, address, occupation, and contact details
  • Statement from the referee stating how long they have known the customer
  • Statement from the referee confirming the customer’s stated name
  • Statement from the referee confirming the customer’s stated address and occupation
  • Signature of both the customer and referee with the date signed

Simplified Identification Requirements

Financial institutions may simplify their identification requirements in certain circumstances, such as:

  • Customers assessed as having a low risk of engaging in money laundering or terrorist financing activities
  • Information on the identity of the customer is publicly available
  • Adequate checks and controls exist in Fiji In these cases, financial institutions must still identify and verify at least three minimum details: customer’s name, permanent residential address in Fiji, and occupation.

Enhanced Identification Requirements

Financial institutions must apply enhanced identification measures to customers assessed as high risk of engaging in money laundering or terrorist financing activities. This includes:

  • Non-resident customers or those who reside permanently outside of Fiji
  • Non-face-to-face customers (e.g., those establishing a business relationship via the internet)
  • Customers previously reported in FIU Alert Notices
  • Politically exposed persons (PEPs) and their family members and close associates Financial institutions must also undertake reasonable measures to determine whether a customer is PEP or associated with one, including:
    • Obtaining information on occupation
    • Verifying names through databases
    • Including questions about PEP association in account opening forms

Additional Identification Procedures

When establishing a business relationship with non-face-to-face customers, financial institutions must conduct additional identification procedures, including:

  • Certification of identification documents
  • Requesting additional documents
  • Independent contact with the customer