The Draft Communiqué on Remote Identification Methods to be Used by Banks ("Draft Communiqué") was announced to the public on September 21, 2020 by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency ("BRSA").

The Draft Communiqué regulates the procedures and principles regarding remote identification methods that can be used for banks to acquire new customers and authenticate their customers.

The Draft Communiqué is issued in accordance with the (i) 2nd paragraph of Article 76 of the Banking Law No. 5411 ("Law"), stating that that the relations between banks and customers can be regulated by means of contracts to be established through methods that will enable the verification of customer identity remotely by using remote communication tools and (ii) the Regulation On Information Systems of Banks and Electronic Banking Services' ("Regulation") Article 43 titled remote identification and third party trust of and postponed effective date of 01.01.2021.With the Draft Communiqué,; It has been regulated that the remote identification may be performed online by video meeting to be held between the person and the customer representative and establishing communication with each other without the need to be physically present in the same environment.

With the aforementioned Draft Communiqué, the following provisions:

  • General principles regarding remote identification,
  • The personnel who will perform remote identification through video meeting and the working environment,
  • The principles to be followed in the remote identification process through video meeting,
  • Identity documents to be used and their verification,
  • Verification of the person to be identified,
  • Termination of the identification process with video meeting,
  • Transmission of the transaction verification code,
  • Storage of data,
  • Liability for remote identification

have been regulated.

It is envisaged that the Draft Communiqué will enter into force on the date of 1.1.2021.

Originally published September 23, 2020

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