- Hon Nicole McKee
Basic financial transactions are about to get a whole lot easier with the first in a series of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) red-tape cuts passing its final reading in Parliament today, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.
The Statutes Amendment Bill makes small but important fixes across 41 Acts, including a key change to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. The amendment simplifies customer verification and ends years of frustration.
"AML rules have been unclear for too long, and businesses have been forced into overly conservative, box-ticking compliance," says Mrs McKee.
"Under the clarified law, verifying a customer's address will not be required for standard customer due diligence. That means opening a basic bank account or completing a simple transaction won't involve pointless paperwork.
"This is good for both businesses and their customers. It's particularly helpful for parents opening a bank account for their child, or for a recent widower whose spouse handled all the household bills. They'll no longer face the frustration of having to prove an address they can't easily provide."
The amendment marks the first step in a major overhaul of New Zealand's AML/CFT system.
"My reforms will make New Zealand's AML/CFT regime risk-based and proportionate, so it is more effective at tackling real crime, while also cutting costs and paperwork for honest businesses," says Mrs McKee.
