Chinese banks directed towards biometric account checks

China's central bank has recommended that banks introduce biometric checks as part of identity verification standards.The People's Bank of China (PBOC) promulgated the Circular in December on 'Improving Individual Bank Account Services and Strengthening Account Management'.The directive stated that banks must use government databases, the bank's own databases, commercial databases and other banks' databases to confirm a new customer's identity.In addition, “those banks having relevant capabilities may explore the application of biometric recognition technology or other safe and effective technology as the supplemental method for customer identification”.The New Individual Bank Account Circular reiterates that banks must always check the ID information of the account opening applicant, the validity of the ID document, the consistency of the account opening applicant with the ID and the intention of the account opening applicant, and shall under no circumstances open bank accounts with anonymous names or disguised names.In analysis of the move published in Lexology, King & Wood Mallesons analysts Chen Yun, Janet Gu and Wang Rong wrote that the New Individual Bank Account Circular represents “a giant step” of the PRC regulatory development on this issue, by “for the first time by expressly permitting individual account opening through E-channels and using biometric technology as the supplemental method for customer identification”.

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