Certified Accountant and regional lecturer on finance and banking, Mitchel Williams delivered a well received presentation on Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols which are put in place by financial institutions. Members are very reluctant to comply with KYC protocols and Williams warn that it is in the best interest of both member and institution to ensure that KYC is adhered to.

In his address, Williams encouraged customers to comply with the KYC protocols as these are mandated by financial regulators. According to him, these protocols remain a “significant element in the fight against financial crime and money laundering”.

KYC protocols include ID verification, proof of address and declaration of source of funds.

Williams says that since the September 11 terrorist attacks, “banking is no longer transactional but [it is also] behavioural”. Financial institutions must know who their members are, where they live and why they do the kinds of transactions that they do with the institution.

He explained that the Law makes it the responsibility of the institution to ask you where you get the money from. This is to ensure that no member brings the institution into disrepute with any established law. He said further that even businesses must prove who are the natural persons behind them.

Williams encouraged members of the Credit Union to comply with the KYC protocols in order to safeguard the credit  union. He warned that if the credit union fails to follow the established laws relating to KYC they may be subjected to heavy fines or in extreme cases they may be served with an order to cease and desist operations.

Williams made these comments at the 13th Annual General Meeting of the Central Cooperative Credit Union Limited(CCCUL), which was held on Thursday at the Truth and Grace Fellowship Global House of Worship.