Four years on from the publication of the circular on “Video and online identification” 2016/7, The Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is re-evaluating the regulation’s purposefulness in order to take into account the most recent technological advancements. The goal is to align the norm with the opportunities provided by new technological means, while at the same time keeping on combating money laundering in the financial market.
To do so, FINMA is amending the due diligence requirements for client onboarding through digital channels. Specifically, financial intermediaries will be able to automate their identification processes through means such as the scanning of client’s biometric passport chip. Accompanying security requirements such as a bank transfer or scanning of the biometric information document chip will nonetheless be upheld in order to guarantee adequate security standards.