We were happy to welcome Matt McGuire as our guest speaker at our recent webinar on online account opening. Matt is a Chartered Professional Accountant who leads the National Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Practice and the Investigative and Forensic Services Group in Ontario for MNP LLP.

He joined us to discuss concerns and dispel myths around risks associated with online account opening. He also had lots to say about cumulus™, our online account opening solution. Specifically, he outlined how cumulus™ meets and exceeds all rigorous FINTRAC and AML compliance requirements, significantly mitigating the risks associated with opening an account online.

Here are Matt’s answers to some of the key questions asked during the webinar.

1. Do all members require a signature card at account opening?
Participants were surprised to learn that FINTRAC does not require a signature at account opening for anyone under the age of twelve. 

2. Can members fax or email their ID documents to their credit union?
Many credit unions have accepted identification documents like driver’s licences, passports and other government photo i.d. via fax and email for years, but it turns out that this is not an acceptable or compliant FINTRAC practice.

3. How does cumulus™ ascertain identity online?
By using an identification product (TransUnion) in combination with a cleared cheque drawn from a demand account at Canadian FI.

4. Are accounts opened online considered high risk?
Matt told us that while there is some inherent risk with accounts opened online, the issue isn’t so much about ascertaining identity as it is what the member will do with the account once it’s opened. For that reason, a credit union’s operational procedures need to be solid to ensure that accounts can be monitored after being opened, whether they’ve been opened online or in branch.

5. Does it even make sense to open accounts online?
Absolutely. It’s what your members want  and expect. Providing the option to open accounts online removes significant barriers to membership growth. Matt says that if you’re concerned about risk, cumulus™ meets all FINTRAC and AML requirements. FIs can feel confident in relying on cumulus™ as a trustworthy, dynamic and easy to implement solution.