The same agency (FinCEN) that brought you the USA PATRIOT Act rules requiring anti-money laundering programs for dealers in precious metals, stones and jewels, has recently passed rules that require certain providers and sellers of pre-paid access products: defined as plastic gift card, mobile phones, key fobs and/ or any other mechanism that provides a portal to funds that have been paid for in advance and are retrievable through an electronic device such as a plastic gift card and transferable. Compliance requires the seller or provider to fully identify the customers who buy the product, institute an AML program and policy, report suspicious activity and comply with record keeping requirements for verified customer identification data and transactional data. If such sellers are also dealers in precious metals, stones or jewels under the USA PATRIOT Act, these requirements would be added to their already established AML program.
What are the goals of the new rules?
FinCEN has determined that the increasing use of these pre-paid access products presented a risk for money laundering and terrorist financing. These instruments will now be subject to rules that would gather the information needed to attack money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit transactions using these devices. FinCEN claims that their approach accomplishes these goals while “preserving innovation and the many legitimate uses and societal benefits offered by pre-paid access.”
Detailed news link: here