Name
Global FinTech Guide
Country _ Name
Poland
SectionTitle
KYC requirements
Body
The know your customer or know your client (KYC) guidelines and regulations for financial services require that professionals try to verify the identity, suitability, and risks involved with maintaining a business relationship.

Legal affairs

National regulatory framework regarding AML and effective date of the regulations

Issues in the AML area are regulated by the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (Ustawa o przeciwdzialaniu praniu pieniedzy oraz finansowaniu terroryzmu) of March 1, 2018 ('AML Act').

Poland will obviously be obligated to apply the provisions of the new AML Regulation from July 10, 2027, when EU Regulation 2024/1624 becomes fully applicable across all member states. The new regulation will replace the previous AML Directive and establish a single rulebook, harmonising national provisions and closing regulatory gaps throughout the European Union.

National regulator or relevant authority for AML controls

The AML Act specifies that financial information authorities in Poland are government administration bodies that have the authority to conduct matters related to preventing the introduction of property values derived from illegal or undisclosed sources into financial trading.

These authorities are the minister authorized to conduct matters relating to financial institutions, who is the chief financial information authority, and the General Inspector of Financial Information, who performs his tasks within an organizational unit separated for this purpose within the structure of the Ministry of Finance.

The General Inspector for Financial Information accepts reports of actual or potential violations of the provisions on anti-money laundering and counteracting the financing of terrorism from employees, former employees of obliged institutions or other persons who perform or performed activities for obliged institutions on a basis other than employment.


Customer Due Diligence

Conduct of a typical KYC identification process

Identification of the customer (and its beneficial owner) is done by the obligated institution under the AML Act before the business relationship is established.
Under the AML Act customer identification involves determining:

  • natural person:
    • first and last name,
    • nationality,
    • number of the Universal Electronic System for Population Registration (PESEL) or date of birth - if no PESEL number was assigned, and country of birth,
    • series and number of the document confirming identity of the person,
    • the address of residence if the obliged institution has this information,
    • name (business name), tax identification number (NIP) and address of the main place of business activity - in case of a natural person conducting business activity;
  • legal person or organisational unit without legal personality:
  • name (business name),
  • organizational form,
  • registered or business address,
  • tax identification number, and if there is no such number, the country of registration, the name of the relevant register and the number and date of registration,
  • identification data referred to in item 1 letters a and c of the person representing that legal person or organizational unit without legal personality.
The identification of the beneficial owner includes identification of the data referred to in point (1)(a) and, if the information is held by an obliged institution, also the data referred to in point (1)(b-e).

Identification of the person authorized to act on behalf of the customer includes identification of the data referred to in point (1)(a-d).

Verification of the identity of the customer, the person authorized to act on his behalf and the beneficial owner involves confirmation of the identification data established on the basis of a document stating the identity of the natural person, a document containing current data from an extract from the competent register or other documents, data or information from a reliable and independent source, including, where available, electronic identification means or relevant trust services as defined in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC ('Regulation (EU) No 910/2014').

Possibility to meet customer due diligence requirements by relying on third parties who are obliged by law themselves to comply with AML regulations

Obliged institutions may rely on a third party for the application of some of the financial security measures, provided that the third party immediately provides, at the request of the obliged institution, the necessary information and documents relating to the financial security measures applied, including copies of documents obtained during the application of the financial security measures consisting in the identification of the customer and the beneficial owner and the verification of their identity. In particular, by means of electronic identification means and trust services allowing electronic identification within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.
The use of a third party does not relieve the obligated institution of its responsibility to apply financial security measures.

Possibility to outsource customer due diligence by contract to other third parties who are not obliged by law to meet AML regulations and rely on these (e.g., WebID, IDnow, PostIdent)

Obligated institutions may outsource the execution of financial security measures and the conduct and documentation of the results of the ongoing analysis of transactions carried out, to a natural person, a legal person or an organizational unit without legal personality acting in the name and on behalf of the obligated institution, if under a written agreement the entity outsourced to the execution of financial security measures is to be treated as part of the obligated institution.
Outsourcing the execution of financial security measures does not relieve the obliged institution from the responsibility for their application. Therefore, any mistakes made by the third party will burden the obliged institution with administrative liability under the AML Act.

Presence of a license or registration requirement for the third party in case of outsourcing customer due diligence

There is no requirement for obtaining a license or registration.


Further questions

Entities that could be relied on specifically by law as a third party to comply with AML regulations (regardless of outsourcing)


Yes credit institutions
Yes financial institutions
Yes auditors, external accountants, and tax advisors
Yes notaries and other independent legal professionals
Yes other trust or company service providers
Yes estate agents
Yes other persons trading high-value goods
Yes providers of gambling services
 
All other obliged institutions enlisted in the AML Act and any entity based in another country, or a member organization or federation of such an entity, which is required by the relevant anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws of that country to apply financial security measures and keep documents and information, and is subject to supervision by the relevant authorities of that country in a manner consistent with the requirements of the European Union anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws.



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