Mexico City.- The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) tightened the measures to prevent crimes of operations with resources of illicit origin and financing of terrorism for companies that transmit money, commonly called remittance companies.
With a resolution that reforms, adds, and repeals various general provisions of article 95 bis of the General Law of Auxiliary Credit Organizations and Activities, applicable to money transmitters, the Treasury established various minimum procedures that they must comply with.
Since March 2019, remittance companies have a remote identification regime for users, but it was not enough, since these companies have a high risk of being used to carry out operations with resources of illicit origin with the use of new technologies. .
Said modifications add the geolocation of the user, establishes two thresholds for the non-presential identification of the user and an order regarding the conformation of the List of Blocked Persons, according to the document published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF).
In remote currency transfer operations with individuals, individuals with business activity or legal entities of Mexican nationality, the SHCP established a monthly limit allowed in a range between 5,000 and 7,000 United States dollars. .
In operations that do not exceed the equivalent in national currency to 5 thousand dollars in a month, the user’s identification must have a recording that contains image and sound, that is, proof of life.
In operations that do not exceed the equivalent in national currency to 7 thousand dollars in a month, money transmitters must verify the coincidence of the biometric information of the user with the records of the INE or the SRE.
“It is necessary to strengthen the legal framework regarding the creation of the List of Blocked Persons, because our country has recognized the creation of front companies as a generalized technique to carry out operations with resources of illicit origin.
“In this sense, the assumption of inclusion to the List of Blocked Persons is added to those taxpayers referred to in the fourth paragraph of article 69-B of the Federal Tax Code,” the resolution indicates.
The agency indicated that money transmitters must implement mechanisms that allow the identification of users who are on the List of Blocked Persons, as well as any third party acting in their name or on their behalf.
It was also established that in the case of operations carried out remotely, money transmitters must take into account the geolocation of the device where said operation is carried out.
Geolocation may cover the various operations carried out by the user in the active session within the website or mobile application, among other technological developments that money transmitters make available to their users to carry them out, said the Treasury.
“In general terms, it is an update to the regulation. A change that is aimed at improving the standards or controls for the identification of users who carry out operations from digital or non-face-to-face channels,” said Edgar Contreras, director of comptrollership at Banco Base.
