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ARTICLE · 28 NOVEMBER 2019

Take A Selfie: FINTRAC Issues Updated Guidance For Identity Verification

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Taking a "selfie" – it's not just for social media.

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Suhuyini Abudulai
Suhuyini Abudulai
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Taking a "selfie" – it's not just for social media. As innovation and technology continue to change the financial services regulatory landscape, Canada's financial intelligence unit is allowing reporting entities to rely on an individual's "selfie" (subject to the following commentary) to satisfy the reporting entity's client identification requirements under Canada's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has recently updated its guidance, Methods to verify the identity of an individual and confirm the existence of a corporation or an entity other than a corporation (the Guidance), subsequent to the amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) which we previously reported on in our e-lert " Amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act."

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