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Cashier's Checks: Collecting Verification Info For Known Customers

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Question: 
When a deposit account customer of a bank purchases a cashier's checkfor $4,000 in cash, the bank obviously is required to record and retaincertain information. Assuming that at the time the original depositaccount was opened the customer's identity was verified and the customeris well-known to the bank employee conducting the transaction, whatneeds to be done to "verify" the customer?
Answer: 

Let's start at the beginning. When a cashier's check or other monetary instrument is purchased with $3,000 or more in currency by a deposit accountholder, Section 103.29 of the BSA rules requires the financial institution toobtain and record the purchaser's:

name;
date of purchase;
type of instrument purchased;
serial number of each instrument;
dollar amount.

In addition, if, as in your question, the customer has a deposit account with the bank, the bank must verify that the accountremains open and is in the purchaser's name. This can be done by examining the signature card "or other file or record at thefinancial institution" as long as the depositor's name and address were verified at the time the signature card or other record was obtained. In other words, the bank does not have to verify the above identification information if it had been verified once before. However, the bank must confirm that he or she is the person whose record is on file with the bank. This can be done be comparing signatures, looking at a realiable form of identification or some other reasonable means.

If the deposit customer's identity is clearly known, for example, a known employee of the bank (such as the case of the branch manager), the bank should already have sufficient identification information on file to "verify" the purchaser's identity and there is no need for additional verification provided the branch manager was recognized by the bank employee.

First published on BankersOnline.com 8/16/04

First published on 08/16/2004

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