The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a request for information related to existing requirements for banks under the Customer Identification Program Rule to collect a taxpayer identification number from customers before opening an account.
FDIC Advisory: Banks generally are required to collect a full Social Security number from U.S. customers prior to opening an account. In an FDIC advisory also released Thursday, the agency reminded institutions of the information they are required to collect from customers prior to account opening.
Request for Info: FinCEN said its request for information will inform its understanding in this area and evaluate the risks, benefits, and safeguards if banks were permitted to collect partial SSN information from a customer and subsequently use reputable third-party sources to obtain the full SSN prior to account opening.