FNB Namibia has announced that the KYC (Know Your
Customer) process is progressing well at the bank and that customers have
heeded the call by the bank to bring in all requested documents that verify and
proof customer identity.
Yamillah Katjirua, Group Company Secretary and Compliance Officer
explains: “Know your customer (KYC)
refers to due diligence
activities that financial institutions and other regulated companies must
perform to ascertain relevant information from their clients for the purpose of
doing business with them. Know your customer policies are becoming increasingly
important globally to prevent identity theft,
financial fraud, money laundering
and terrorist financing”.
FNB
Namibia has been requesting customers through a variety of means to get all
relevant information from customers. Katjirua:
“We have phoned our customers, reminded them via our website, via direct SMS,
through media as well as customer interaction in our branches. We are happy
with the response from our clients.”
Katjirua
advised that the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 obliges banks to know
who their customers are and set out the required information banks should
ascertain and verify. The Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 also prohibits
any bank to deal with unknown/anonymous customers. “The objective of KYC
requirements is to prevent banks from being used, intentionally or
unintentionally, by criminal elements for money laundering activities”.
The
deadline for compliance as set by Bank of Namibia is 5 October 2013 and
Katjirua mentioned that customers need to be fully KYC’d by the bank as per
prescribed requirements. “If this is not done by the deadline the bank will be
left with no choice than to freeze the account, which will limit the customers’
transactional ability, in that no deposits and/or withdrawals will be allowed.
The customer will also not be able to make use of any other services offered by
the bank until such time that the customer has been fully KYC’d and the account
re-activated. We wish to avoid this at all costs and thus request all our
customers to become KYC.”
FNB
invites their customers to call their nearest FNB branch or the Call Centre on
(061) 299 2222 or email them at CallCentre1@fnbnamibia.com.na
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