Amendment to MASAK Circular No. 5

With the amendments made to MASAK Circular No. 5, which regulates simplified measures in customer identification processes, certain updates have been implemented for obligated parties:

🔹 The scope of simplified measures has been narrowed.

It has been explicitly stipulated that simplified measures cannot be used for transactions with foreign politically exposed persons (foreign PEPs), in addition to transactions assessed as risky.

🔹 The scope of simplified measures for insurance transactions has been expanded.

Provided that identity information is verified through the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs database and insurance payments are made to the bank account of the identified person,

the identity verification procedure and signature sample requirement specified in the Measures Regulation will not be required.

🔹 New obligations for lottery and betting games and e-commerce platforms.

Those conducting Lottery and Betting Game Activities and Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers are required to transfer money from a bank account matching the identity information of the customer to be accepted to a verification account created for this purpose by the obligated party in order for customer acceptance to be possible.

🔹 Certain bank accounts opened on behalf of public institutions have been included in the simplified measures.

Bank accounts opened at the request of public institutions and organizations for the purpose of making mandatory payments are exempt from the obligations of identity verification, beneficial owner identification, customer monitoring, and signature sampling under certain conditions.

📌 These changes have important implications in terms of strengthening the risk-based approach and simplifying operational processes in certain sectors.