CFTC, FinCEN and Treasury have provided guidance in a Q&A format regarding certain unique circumstances relating to IBs and the Customer Identification Program (CIP). These include:
New Co-Owner of Account: If a person becomes a co-owner of an existing account, then the new co-owner is a customer to which the IB must perform the CIP.
Rural Customer Without Address: If a customer lives in a rural area and does not have a residential or business address, then the IB may get the number on a roadside mailbox on a route route. A route route is a description of the approximate area where the customer is located. If no such number exists and there is no residential or business address for next of kin or another contact individual then a description of the customer's physical location suffices.
US Customer Without TIN: If a US customer does not have a TIN, the IB may not open an account unless the customer has applied for a TIN, the IB confirms that the IB filed the application before the customer opened the account, and the IB obtains the TIN within a reasonable period of time after the account is opened.
Using Non-Government Issued ID for Documentary Verification: While CFTC, FinCEN and Treasury expect that IBs will obtain government-issued identification from most customers, such government-issued identification is not required and an IB may use an employee identification card if it allows the IB to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of the customer. IBs are encouraged to obtain more than one document in so verifying.
Verifying Identity Using Electronic Credentials such as Digital Certificates: IBs may use digital certificates to verify a customer's identity so long as the certificates allow the IB to have a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of the customer. Thus, the IB would need to ensure that the third party issuing the certificate uses an adequate level of authentication.
Sole Proprietorship Customers: If an IB has a sole proprietor customer, the IB may be able to obtain a fictitious or assumed name certificate that was filed with a state for the sole proprietorship. If that is not available, the IB must undertake additional verification by obtaining information about the sole proprietor or other person with control over the account, such as the person's name, address, date of birth and TIN.
Neal R. Stevens, Of Counsel, Shuyler Roche Crisham Attorneys
