Central Bank's remote ID project to take off

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has officially announced that it has signed an agreement to start the Digital On-boarding project for remote customer identification. The agreement was signed between the CBC and the appointed consortium.

According to a CBC press release, this project is a significant part of the ongoing efforts to modernise the Cypriot banking system, with the primary aim of providing faster, more efficient, and reliable banking services and was initiated by CBC Governor Constantinos Herodotou.

It is added that the recent competition for the selection of the technological solution for creating a platform to facilitate remote electronic submission, verification, and updating of customer details by credit institutions was successfully concluded, with the contract awarded to the winning bidder.

The project will be implemented in three phases, with the objective of improving service for businesses, self-employed, and households.

The first phase called “Client Digital On-boarding & Reviewing” involves the electronic submission and verification of new customer information and the updating of existing customer data, all without the need for physical presence.

In the second phase, the project will establish connections with government services to obtain additional customer information promptly, expediting the "Know Your Customer" (KYC) process as soon as this becomes feasible through service providers.

The third phase will involve the sharing of verified customer information among participating credit institutions. This will facilitate the transfer of a customer's account from one credit institution to another upon request.

Several banks have already confirmed their participation in the project following consultations with the CBC's Governor. These include the Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic Bank, Alpha Bank Cyprus, Astrobank Public Company Limited, Cyprus Development Bank, and Eurobank Cyprus.

The application of this digital solution is entirely voluntary.

The Central Bank of Cyprus invites all credit institutions operating in Cyprus to participate in this project, which will further modernise the Cypriot banking sector and simplify processes for everyone involved.