WASHINGTON—A provision in S. 2155 is designed to allow consumers easier access to online banking. And while no guidance has officially been issued yet, there appears to be some changes that could affect a credit union’s member identification policy under the Bank Secrecy Act, CUNA said.
One provision allows a financial institution to “record personal information from a scan of the driver’s license or personal identification card of the individual, or make a copy or receive an image of the driver’s license or personal identification card of the individual, and store or retain such information in any electronic format,” CUNA explained.
While some credit unions are already able to do this, some state laws prohibit copying of driver’s licenses. S. 2155 states that its provisions supersede or pre-empt any state law that conflicts with the provision, “but only to the extent of such conflict,” CUNA said.
Scanning of military identification is still prohibited, per Department of Defense Regulations.
CUNA explained that the bill also states “except as required to comply with federal bank secrecy laws, a financial institution may only use the information obtained” through scanned IDs to:
- Verify the authenticity of the driver’s license or personal identification card
- Verify the identity of the individual
- Comply with a legal requirement to record, retain, or transmit the personal information in connection with opening an account or obtaining a financial product or service
BSA regulations do not require credit unions to make copies of identification cards. Section 31 CFR 1020.220 requires financial institutions to “record a description of any documents that were relied on, noting the type of document, any identification number contained in the document, the place of issuance and, if any, the date of issuance and expiration date,” CUNA explained.
Copying or scanning the identification card counts as recording the information, but BSA regulations do not require it, CUNA said.