Ask for a selfie: UK financial watchdog eases rules in pandemic
06/04/2020
Financial firms can ask customers for a selfie to check their identity, Britain’s markets watchdog said in a bid to ease burdens on staff having to work from home during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it has received hundreds of requests from trade associations for adaptions to its rules.
But some were “opportunistic” and the watchdog said it will reflect on what this says about the firms involved or conduct in the sector.
FCA interim chief executive Christopher Woolard said in a public letter to heads of retail financial services firms that the pandemic affects the operational resilience of firms as staff work from home in volatile market conditions.
“It also brings with it the need to protect consumers,” Woolard said in his letter sent late on Tuesday (2/4/20).
Restrictions on non-essential travel affect a firm’s ability to make compulsory anti-money laundering checks on customers, but Woolard said firms can be flexible.
Firms could accept scanned documentation sent by e-mail, or ask clients to submit ‘selfies’ from their smartphone or videos, the FCA said. They could also send codes to a customer’s address to validate access to accounts.
Read more at Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-markets/ask-for-a-selfie-uk-financial-watchdog-eases-rules-in-pandemic-idUSKBN21J4KM
By Huw Jones, Reuters, 1 April 2020
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.