Circular No. 95/2022: Linking and Inquiry of Natural Customer Identity on the Civil Registry

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Palestine Monetary Authority PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY

Circular No. (95/2022) To all payment service companies operating in Palestine Date: Monday, April 18, 2022

Subject: Linking and Inquiry of Natural Customer Identity on the Civil Registry

In order to provide neutral and reliable sources and a centralized information database that contributes to obtaining the necessary data to establish and maintain business relationships and access financial services, and to enable financial institutions in the future to transition towards digital ID adoption, and to enhance the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing environment, mitigate risks to financial institutions, achieve electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, and contribute to identifying and verifying customer identity and the integrity of basic data in line with Recommendation No. (10) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Palestinian Ministry of Interior to enable supervised financial institutions to inquire about citizens' basic identity data on the Civil Registry. In this regard, payment service companies are requested to take immediate steps to utilize the inquiry service provided via the link to the Credit Information Systems at the Palestine Monetary Authority.

First: Inquiry on the Civil Registry.

1. Payment service companies must take necessary measures to inquire about customer identity and basic data from the Civil Registry, at a minimum when establishing a relationship and whenever there is doubt regarding the accuracy of customer identity data.
2. Obtain customer authorization to inquire about their identities and basic data on the Civil Registry.
3. The inquiry report response for a citizen's ID number on the Civil Registry includes the citizen's photograph and basic data, specifically: (Personal ID number, First name, Father's name, Grandfather's name, Family name, Mother's name, Date of birth, Place of birth, Gender, Marital status, Religion, Place of issue, Date of issue, Vital status "Alive or Deceased", Spouse's name, Spouse's ID number, Names of minor children and their ID numbers).
4. Inquiry regarding customer identity and basic data from the Civil Registry at the Ministry of Interior is conducted by following these steps:

• Access the Credit Information Systems link.
• Enter username and password.
• Click the Ministry of Interior inquiry icon.
• Click Ministry of Interior data inquiry.
• Enter the customer's Personal ID number and full four-part name.
• Click Execute Ministry of Interior inquiry to process the request.

5. The Civil Registry inquiry response must be saved within the customer's file.

Second: Granting Permissions. The company is responsible for taking the necessary measures for the following:

1. Grant inquiry permissions for customer identity and basic data to employees working in operations, compliance, and anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing roles.
2. Submit a written request to the Financial Stability Department at the Palestine Monetary Authority to provision inquiry permissions for employees in the aforementioned roles on the Authority's Credit Information Office systems.
3. Suspend inquiry permissions for any employee whose employment is terminated, resignation is accepted, or who is transferred to a role that does not require such permissions.

Third: Monitoring Inquiry Operations. Each company must strictly monitor the inquiry operations conducted by its employees on the Civil Registry to ensure the confidentiality of customer and citizen data, and prevent misuse of permissions for unauthorized purposes, by utilizing the report provided for this purpose titled "Report on Executed Inquiries".

Fourth: Reporting to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Department. Company management must immediately notify the Authority's AML-CFT Department in writing via the department's official email AML-CFT@PMA.PS upon becoming aware of any of the following:

1. Any employee misuse of granted permissions, and the administrative or disciplinary measures taken or to be taken regarding the matter.
2. Fraud, forgery, or counterfeiting crimes involving the personal ID card image or its data following the Civil Registry inquiry.
3. Cases inquiring about Palestinian ID numbers that do not exist on the Civil Registry.
4. Information to relevant official authorities regarding cases of fraud, forgery, or counterfeiting, and discrepancies in personal ID card data or the photographed individual's image in the inquiry system, and/or absence of data on the Civil Registry for the inquired Personal ID number; accompanied by copies of police reports and supporting documents.

Fifth: Inquiry Fees.

1. A fee of three shekels per inquiry transaction is charged to the payment service company.
2. Payment service companies are granted an incentive trial period to pay a fee of one shekel per inquiry transaction, effective until June 30, 2022.
3. The Palestine Monetary Authority will reconcile inquiry statements and records with the Ministry of Interior, then issue a written demand to payment service companies to settle monthly inquiry fees into the Authority's account at Cairo Amman Bank for the benefit of the Ministry of Finance. Fees must be settled within a maximum of the first week of the following month, via internal transfer or financial remittance to the account specified in the Authority's demand.
4. Payment service companies must immediately notify the Authority in writing regarding the settlement of monthly fees via email to: aabujaber@pma.ps
5. Payment service companies are prohibited from charging customers any direct or indirect additional fees, commissions, or charges resulting from inquiry transactions conducted on the Civil Registry.

Supervision Group Palestine Monetary Authority [Signature]

Copy: Respected Gentlemen / Ministry of Interior

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Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate - Palestine P.O. Box 452 | Tel: +970 2 2415251 | Fax: +970 2 2415310 | info@pma.ps Gaza - Palestine P.O. Box 4026 | Tel: +970 8 2825713 | Fax: +970 8 2844487 | www.pma.ps