KATHMANDU, Jan 9: People pursuing to open bank accounts need to submit a national identity card (National ID) with the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) making it mandatory with effect from January 14.
Enforcing an amended unified directive on Thursday, the central bank has asked the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to consider the National ID while opening bank accounts. “The BFIs have to make necessary arrangements to open bank accounts based on the details of individuals maintained in the electronic record system under National ID,” reads the NRB circular issued to the BFIs.
The central bank has stated that the BFIs may use electronic means to identify and verify the customer in accordance with Rule 3 of the regulations, based on access to the details contained in the electronic record of the customer's Nepali citizenship certificate or National ID.
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The National ID is not mandatory to open an account for receiving payments under the government’s social security scheme. However, the BFIs need to verify their customers’ identity when the money is withdrawn from such accounts. The BFIs have also been asked to take necessary measures to verify mobile numbers to ascertain whether the cell number originally belongs to their customers or not.
In case of the individuals, groups and organizations notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the BFIs have to develop an updated system to make sure whether their account holders carry out any financial transactions with the suspicious ones under the radar of the ministry. Provided any such transactions are traced, the BFIs have to freeze the accounts and notify the Money Laundering Prevention Supervision Division of the NRB within three days of the transaction date.
The NRB has also mandated the BFIs to categorize their customers in case they are high-ranking officials of the government and international organizations. The BFIs will have to keep details of the high-ranking officials even up to 10 years after their retirements. Through this measure, the BFIs need to make sure whether their clients are in close contact with such high-profile people. In this regard, the central bank has asked the BFIs to update their records by Tuesday.
According to the unified directives, the BFIs also need to track the financial transactions based on the risk assessment. They have to maintain priority to monitor transactions carried out by people linked to corruption charges, tax evasion, human trafficking, casino entrepreneurs, bullion traders, real estate traders and cooperative accounts, among others.
In case of any suspicious financial transactions, the BFIs will have to report to the Financial Information Unit of the NRB. The BFIs will have to maintain a separate unit to monitor such transactions.
