Décret n° 2023-63 du 3 février 2023 relatif à la vérification de l’identité de la clientèle pour certains produits et services à faible risque de blanchiment de capitaux et de financement du terrorisme

On 5 February 2023, the Decree No. 2023-63 of 3 February 2023 relating to the verification of customer identity for certain products and services at low risk of money laundering and terrorist financing (ECOT2207047D) was published on Légifrance, aiming at the relaxation of anti-money laundering measures included in the Monetary and Financial code (MFC) for financial services presenting low risks of criminal misappropriation.
Audiences concerned are savers and users of banking services, credit institutions, issuers of electronic money, and the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR – the Prudential Control and Regulation Authority, charged of the supervision of banking and insurance undertakings in France).
The simplified due diligence measures apply more specifically to the obligations to identify and verify the identity of customers of payment service providers for low-value cash transactions carried out for the payment of everyday bills. These new provisions, aimed primarily at disadvantaged groups on the fringes of traditional banking circuits, fulfill an objective of social and economic inclusion, within the limits set by the European framework for the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Article 1 of the present Decree amends Article R. 561-14-1 of the MFC by stating that the issuers of electronic money mentioned in Article L. 561-2 may defer the verification of the identity of their customer and, where applicable, of the latter’s beneficial owner, when there is no suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing. The verification mentioned must carried out no later than twelve months after the date of issue of the electronic money instrument. However, it has to be done immediately, before the expiry of this period, when one of the following conditions occurs:
– The monetary value loaded onto the electronic money instrument or the payments made exceed €150 over a period of thirty days;
– The cumulative amount of all the loads exceeds €1,000;
– The electronic money instrument is used to carry out a payment transaction for the purchase of consumer goods or services whose unit amount is greater than €50, initiated via the internet or by means of a remote communication device;
– The transfers of funds mentioned in d of 4° of I exceed €50 per transaction or a cumulative amount of €150.
Article 2 of the present Decree amends Article R. 561-14-2 of the MFC by inserting that the persons mentioned in Article L. 561-2 implement the simplified due diligence measures provided for in Article L. 561-9 as follows:
– They identify the natural persons making the payments;
– They verify the identity of these natural persons either according to the procedures provided for in Articles R. 561-5-1 or R. 561-5-2, or by collecting the following information appearing on an official identity document: the surname, first names, date and place of birth of the person, as well as the nature, number, date of issue and expiry date of the document;
– They identify and verify the identity of the persons acting on behalf of these natural persons under the same conditions, verify their authority and store the information and documents collected;
– They implement the provisions of Article R. 561-14.
Article 3 of the present Decree amends Article R. 561-16 of the MFC by supplementing Paragraph 11 concerning payments made in cash by a natural person to a payment service provider acting on behalf of the beneficiary of the payment, for expenses and monthly amounts. Indeed, a payment service provider may accept payments made for regular expenses (600 € for rents; €200 for water, €150 for gas & electricity, €50 for telephone bills; €300 for insurance premiums; and public transport costs) which exceed the set ceilings, if he ensures that the total amount of payments made by each natural person is less than or equal to €1,200 per month.
The text enters into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the French Republic, hence on 6 February 2023.