Compliance Alliance Question of the Week

​Question:
I have a question in regards to the matricula consular identification. This is a form of ID given by the Mexican government. Is this form of ID acceptable for CIP purposes in opening a new account?
                                                                      
Answer:
The CIP rule neither endorses nor prohibits bank acceptance of information from Matricula IDs. Instead, a bank must decide for itself, based upon appropriate risk factors, whether the information presented by a customer is reliable. The CIP rules simply permit use of "any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard." https://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/pages_manual/olm_011.htm
 
However, some banks refuse to accept this form of ID, because they believe it's too hard to verify the legitimacy of these cards. If your bank decides to accept this form of ID, you may still want a secondary source of ID if you have reason to doubt the authenticity of the card.