Wellington, Aug 24 NZPA - The Government's database that is used to confirm identities will be opened to private businesses under a bill introduced to Parliament today. Internal Affairs Minister Nathan Guy says they will be able to use the Data Validation Service to check the identity of customers, but only under strict conditions of security, privacy and integrity.
The Department of Internal Affairs holds identity information through the citizenship registers, the passports database and registers of births, deaths and marriages. Any private agency like a bank or finance company that wants to use the service will have to enter into an agreement with the department. The department will decide whether it has a genuine need to check the identities of customers and consider its policies and practices. The agencies won't be able to make the checks without the customer's permission.
"This will be an important tool in preventing identity fraud and reducing compliance costs," Mr Guy said today.
"This service will help ensure compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act, which requires banks and other financial institutions to undertake more comprehensive 'know your customer' checks." The service will only confirm whether information provided by customers is accurate. It will not give out any additional information. Source
