Have you ever wondered why Salal asks you so many questions, both during the account opening process and periodically throughout your membership with us? Every financial institution must have a Customer Identification Program (CIP) in place to prevent economic crime and comply with federal and state regulations. As part of Salal Credit Union’s CIP, we must initially verify the identity of all our members and maintain ongoing verification programs.
What Is CIP and Why Does It Matter?
There are several elements of our CIP, including name, address, date of birth, and government-issued ID number. The CIP is just one core component of a broader Know Your Customer (KYC) program, which is a more comprehensive process that involves understanding a customer’s financial activities and assessing their risk profile.
Going Beyond CIP: Know Your Customer (KYC)
Within the Business Services department, our Due Diligence team leads these CIP and KYC verifications. “Salal is required by federal law to verify the identities of our applicants before opening the account,” said Christie Taylor, Business Banking Due Diligence Lead. “This helps protect them and Salal from fraud and financial crimes.”
Your Information Is Safe with Us
Despite their necessity, these verifications can sometimes pose challenges. “Some members may hesitate to share sensitive information due to fear of identity theft,” Christie said. “The process that Salal uses is secure, and members’ information will be handled with care.”
“Some folks are understandably wary of sharing their personal information, particularly when it’s related to a business that they work for or own,” said Karen Petrick, Business Banking Due Diligence Manager. “Everyone at Salal takes the security of private information very seriously, and we only collect this information to ensure we are satisfying our legal and regulatory requirements as well as to guard against identity theft and other kinds of banking-related fraud.”
Making the Process Easier with Engage
“One of the biggest challenges is simply the applicant entering the wrong information, such as transposing numbers for their date of birth, SSN, address, or ID number,” Christie said. “I have also had members struggle with understanding instructions or providing information accurately due to language issues.” To make it as easy as possible for our members to complete the initial account opening application, Salal uses an online system called Engage.
Screening for Security
We are required to screen all applicants against government lists of known terrorists, sanctioned individuals, and other watchlists. The Engage application system utilizes an automated process to complete these screenings. “Common names can sometimes generate false positives, but Salal’s staff has the training and systems they need to quickly and confidently rule these out,” Karen said. “Our robust CIP is one of the reasons we’re able to do so without having to contact our members for more information.”
Why Periodic Verification Is Important
If you’ve had your Salal membership for a while, you’re likely familiar with the need to refresh your account data periodically. “Primarily, this is a fraud-prevention policy, just one of the ways to ensure we can properly identify business owners and account signers when working with them, especially by phone or email,” Karen explained. “But importantly, we also do this to maintain a safe and compliant banking program which allows Salal to offer a full range of products and services that are secure and reliable.”
“This process helps us ensure that we have accurate and up-to-date information on file, which is essential for protecting your account from fraud and complying with anti-money laundering and other financial regulations,” Christie added. “It’s a standard procedure that benefits you by ensuring account safety.”
Balancing Security and Efficiency
In addition to security, another key goal for Salal regarding our CIP requests is efficiency. “We recognize that business owners are busy people,” Karen said, “so we appreciate the cooperation we receive from our members when we request the information needed to open and service their accounts.”
We’re Here to Help
If you have any questions about our digital banking services, please reach out to Business Services at 206.298.9398 or BusinessServices@SalalCU.org, and we’ll be happy to help!
