The update concerns credit organisations (banks) and their operational requirements for customer identification procedures, which relates to retail banking compliance and customer-facing banking obligations.
Low confidence — REQUIRES HUMAN REVIEW. This is an anti-money laundering procedural/administrative change affecting bank operations, not an investment service, and does not involve asset management or investment products.
Specialism
The update directly addresses amendments to anti-money laundering legislation that restrict bank payment agents from conducting customer identification procedures, which is a core AML/CTF regulatory obligation.
Mandatory inheritance: Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorism Financing is a child of Financial Crime, so Financial Crime must be raised as the secondary tag.
2026-03-17 09:44:33·arahman@vixio.com
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TITLE: Russia's Central Bank Restricts Bank Payment Agents from Conducting Customer Identification
BODY:
On March 16, 2026, the Bank of Russia announced that amendments to anti-money laundering legislation have taken effect, prohibiting bank payment agents (BPA) from conducting customer identification procedures.
The legislative changes, which entered into force on March 3, 2026, remove the authority of credit organisations to delegate customer identification or simplified customer identification of natural persons to bank payment agents. Under existing contracts between credit organisations and bank payment agents, bank payment agents are no longer permitted to perform identification functions from this date.
The Bank of Russia has established a 180-day transition period (as specified in Article 3, Section 2 of the relevant legislation) to allow credit organisations to amend their existing contracts with bank payment agents to comply with current legislative requirements. During this transition period, bank payment agents are not expected to continue performing identification functions.
This change represents a significant shift in the operational framework for bank payment agents in Russia, requiring credit organisations to reassess their customer identification processes and potentially implement alternative procedures for conducting identification of natural persons. Credit organisations must ensure their contracts with bank payment agents are brought into compliance with the updated anti-money laundering requirements within the specified timeframe.
**Reference:**
Bank of Russia official announcement, March 16, 2026. Available at: www.cbr.ru