Minister loosens the rules for low-risk customers seeking bank accounts

Address verification rules are being changed to give banks more discretion when customers want to open accounts, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee said on Monday.

McKee said the changes to the anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regime were part of a risk-based approach that would replace existing rules that were “confusing, obstructive and costly”.

“For example, where mothers cannot open bank accounts for their children unless they’re able to prove where the child lives, or elderly widows who had relied on their husband to take care of the bills cannot have a bank account in their own name because they have no written proof of their address.”

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour said there would be further announcements during the week about measures the government was taking to clamp down on money laundering.