# AMLR Art. 23 — Timing of verification > AMLR Art. 23 applies from 10 July 2027. See [[Effective-dates timeline]]. - **Part of:** [[AMLR]] - **FATF keying:** [[FATF R.10 - Customer due diligence|FATF R.10]] - **Swiss provisions:** [[GwV-FINMA Art. 55 - Failure to identify contracting party|GwV-FINMA Art. 55]], [[VSB 20]] - **Detailed citation:** GwV-FINMA Art. 55 (docs before execution) ## What it requires AMLR Art. 23(1) requires verifying customer and beneficial-owner identity before a business relationship is established or an occasional transaction carried out, except in justified lower-risk cases; real estate agents verify after the offer is accepted but before funds or property move. Art. 23(2) allows verification to be completed during establishment where necessary for normal business flow and risk is low. Art. 23(3) lets credit and financial institutions open accounts under safeguards blocking transactions pending compliance. Art. 23(4) requires collecting proof of beneficial-ownership registration for certain new relationships. ## Swiss position The Swiss anchor for this node is GwV-FINMA Art. 55(1): all documents and particulars needed to identify the contracting party must be complete before any transaction is executed within the business relationship - a pre-execution rule with no textual carve-out for low-risk postponement. Art. 55(2) requires refusing or terminating the relationship, following the Art. 9b GwG / GwV Art. 12a-12b procedure, where identification fails. [[Scope note — GwV-FINMA Title 5 vs VSB 20]] applies: Art. 55 binds only fintech-licence firms, portfolio managers, trustees and DLT trading systems; banks verify under VSB 20 instead. ## Key divergences AMLR Art. 23(2) permits verification to be completed during establishment of the relationship, after the fact, where risk is low; GwV-FINMA Art. 55(1) is stricter on its face - it requires the identification documents to be complete before any transaction is executed, with no textual low-risk deferral built into this provision. For banks the position differs: VSB 20 Art. 45 Abs. 3–4 lets an account be used exceptionally, on a risk-based assessment, while individual documents are still missing; they must be obtained within 30 days, otherwise the account is blocked. Real estate agents' offer-linked timing rule (Art. 23(1), second subparagraph), the safeguarded-account mechanism for credit and financial institutions (Art. 23(3)), and the duty to collect proof of beneficial-ownership registration when entering relationships with certain legal entities or trustees (Art. 23(4)) have no counterpart in the Swiss provisions mapped here. ## Effective dates AMLR Art. 23 applies from 10 July 2027. See [[Effective-dates timeline]]. ## Further connections *These links come from an article-by-article comparison of the primary texts. They add to the provisions listed at the top of this note and make no equivalence claim.* - [[VSB 20 Art. 45 - Timing of documentation|VSB 20 Art. 45]] — VSB Art. 45 requires the identification, controlling-person and beneficial-owner documents to be complete before an account may be used, with a risk-based exception for missing details, a 30-day cure period and blocked accounts counting as unopened; it parallels the timing rules of AMLR Art. 23(1)-(3) but is framed as completeness of documentation, not verification. *(direct)* - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 68 - Failure to establish controlling person|GwV-FINMA Art. 68]] — GwV-FINMA Art. 68 Abs. 1 requires controlling-person and beneficial-owner documents and details to be complete before transactions are executed in the relationship, a later point than AMLR Art. 23(1) (before the relationship is established) and concerned with completeness of the declaration, not verification. Title 5 entities only. *(related)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR), Article 23 — English text (EUR-Lex, CELEX 32024R1624) > **Article 23** > *Timing of the verification of the customer and beneficial owner identity* > 1. Verification of the identity of the customer, the beneficial owner, and of any persons pursuant to Article 20(1), points (h) and (i), shall take place before the establishment of a business relationship or the carrying out of an occasional transaction. Such obligation shall not apply to situations of lower risk under Section 3 of this Chapter, provided that the lower risk justifies postponement of such verification. > For real estate agents, the verification referred to in the first subparagraph shall be carried out after an offer is accepted by the seller or lessor, and in all cases before any funds or property are transferred. > 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, verification of the identity of the customer and of the beneficial owner may be completed during the establishment of a business relationship if necessary so as not to interrupt the normal conduct of business and where there is little risk of money laundering or terrorist financing. In such situations, those procedures shall be completed as soon as practicable after initial contact. > 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, a credit institution or financial institution may open an account, including accounts that permit transactions in transferable securities, as may be required by a customer provided that there are adequate safeguards in place to ensure that transactions are not carried out by the customer or on its behalf until full compliance with the customer due diligence measures laid down in Article 20(1), points (a) and (b), is obtained. > 4. Whenever entering into a new business relationship with a legal entity or the trustee of an express trust or the person holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement referred to in Articles 51, 57, 58, 61 and 67 and subject to the registration of beneficial ownership information pursuant to Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, obliged entities shall collect valid proof of registration or a recently issued excerpt of the register confirming validity of registration. ## Sources - AMLR Art. 23 - CELEX 32024R1624 - GwV-FINMA SR 955.033.0, Art. 55