Regulatory Alerts2021-01-01
Circular No. 95: Linking and Inquiring about Natural Customer Identity on the Civil Registry
The Palestine Monetary Authority issued Circular No. 95/2022 mandating payment service companies to integrate with the Palestinian Ministry of Interior's Civil Registry to verify natural customer identities and basic data during onboarding and whenever doubts arise. The directive requires companies to obtain explicit customer consent, restrict system access to operations and compliance staff, implement strict monitoring via a dedicated follow-up report, and immediately report any misuse, fraud, or invalid ID inquiries to the Authority's AML-CFT department. Additionally, the circular establishes a fee structure of one shekel per inquiry during a trial period ending June 30, 2022, prohibits passing costs to customers, and mandates timely monthly settlements to the Ministry of Finance.