The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has issued guidance on digital identification for customer due diligence (CDD) in accordance with article 8 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML-CFT) Act. This article outlines the need for businesses and financial institutions to implement digital ID systems with CDD in order to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
The use of digital identification has become increasingly important in today's digital age. The UAE government recognizes the potential benefits of digital ID systems for CDD, such as improved efficiency and accuracy, increased security and privacy, and reduced costs.
In order to address these risks, the UAE government has established guidance for businesses and financial institutions to follow when implementing digital ID systems with CDD. This guidance outlines the steps a digital ID system should be able to undertake to make for safe and reliable verification processes. The guidance suggests that any system being implemented should be able to carry out the processes outlined below:
1. Collect and resolution: The system should be able to collect the documents that customers upload and resolve the identities presented in the documents into one single unique identity.
2. Validation: The system should then be able to establish if the documents or evidence collected is genuine and not counterfeit or forged, as well as if the information is reliable – this is done by checking the identity information against an authoritative source.
3. Verification: This refers to the system's ability to carry out a check to confirm that the validated identity belongs to the person who is having their identity checked and verified. This can be done through liveness detection and facial recognition.
4. Enrollment: The final step is the system ‘enrolling’ or onboarding the customer onto the system once all previous steps have been cleared. This allows the customer’s unique identity to be created in the digital system.
This process aims to ensure that digital ID systems for CDD are effective, secure, and trustworthy. Businesses and financial institutions must implement these guidelines in order to comply with article 8 of the AML-CFT act and meet the government's expectations for digital ID systems.
While improving, upgrading, or implementing digital ID systems can appear to be a challenge or big step for financial institutions and businesses to take, there is a simple solution: Using a holistic end-to-end solution that can be plugged into your current operations, and revolutionise the CDD processes while abiding by all requirements and regulations set out by the UAE government. One platform that will cover all your AML/CFT needs according to the most recent guidance and regulations, is Idenfo Direct.
Idenfo Direct is a simple, easy, and direct solution that allows you to verify your customers, clients, buyers, tenants, and more. The platform is built to abide by the most current UAE regulations when it comes to digital ID verification and customer due diligence, including updated lists made mandatory to run name screening checks against.
Using powerful, cutting-edge AI technology, Idenfo Direct can carry out name screening, document verification, liveness checks, and risk assessments thoroughly and reliably. This allows you to stay up to date with all government regulations in a way that is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than any traditional methods. Every step of the due diligence process as highlighted above can be carried out easily, safely, and according to the UAE government’s guidance and compliance requirements by Idenfo Direct.
The UAE government's guidance on digital identification for CDD is an important step in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. By implementing digital ID systems or platforms like Idenfo Direct, businesses and financial institutions can improve their CDD processes, increase security and privacy, and reduce costs.
