I. INTRODUCTION
In an effort to provide banking services to and open accounts for many immigrants who lack traditional identification documents (e.g., driver’s license, state identification card and Social Security number), more and more banks are accepting Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) and matriculas consulares, which are official identification cards issued by the Mexican government.
Several banks have noted that while many immigrants from Mexico are in tremendous need for financial services, they continue to remain an untapped market nationwide. They work and pay taxes in this country, but have not availed themselves of basic banking and credit needs. This need for financial services also points to opportunities for financial institutions. If banks are flexible, they may be able to expand into a profitable market. Such flexibility may include the acceptance of alternate forms of identification to open bank accounts. Rather than requiring a driver’s license and a Social Security number, a growing number of financial institutions are serving their immigrant clientele by asking for an ITIN and a matricula consular. Other forms of alternate identification might include foreign passports and voter registration cards.
The acceptance of matricula consular cards by banks as a qualifying form of primary identification has been met with praise by some groups and with resistance by others. Legislation before the U.S. Congress has been considered, but not advanced, that would prohibit the use of matriculas consulares as an accepted form of identification.
II. ITINs
Since 1996, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) that are tax processing numbers for individuals required to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number but who are ineligible to obtain a Social Security number. In order to obtain an ITIN, an individual must complete and mail an IRS “Form W-7.” For their immigrant customers, some banks are including Form W-7s in account-opening documents. Note that there is a separate article on the subject of ITINs in the NBA Compliance Handbook, Volume II, Deposit Accounts section, entitled “Internal Revenue Service: Foreign TIN Documentation.”
III. MANTRICULA CONSULAR
A “matricula consular” is an identification card that is issued by the Mexican consulate to individuals of Mexican nationality. A matricula has a picture of the individual; name, date, city and state of birth (in Mexico); current address; issue date; expiration date; and location of the consulate that issued the identification card. The Mexican consulate upgraded the card to include seven security features, including holograms and other embedded designs. John Byrne, ABA senior counsel and compliance manager was quoted in the July 6, 2002 edition of the New York Times as saying, “The consular ID card is a form of identification that the private sector finds acceptable. We feel fairly comfortable with the consular ID as a form of identification, and we’re becoming more comfortable the more we speak with the U.S. government.”
IV. USA PATRIOT ACT ISSUES
Prior to the issuance of proposed regulations implementing the Customer Identification Program required by the USA PATRIOT Act, many bankers speculated that the new law would further restrict financial institutions in their ability to accept alternate forms of identification.
The U.S. Department of Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, OCC, OTS and NCUA jointly issued regulations to implement § 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act. The rules are specific regarding foreign forms of identification as acceptable documents for opening bank accounts. Section 103.121(b) (2) (I) of the regulations states as follows regarding “Information Required”:
At a minimum, a bank must obtain from each customer the following information prior to opening an account: name; address; for individuals, date of birth; and an identification number.
An identification number is defined within the proposed regulations as follows:
For non-U.S. persons, a bank must obtain one or more of the following: a taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.
V. CONCLUSION
Some banks that are accepting matricula consular cards as one of their qualifying forms of primary identification are also requiring that prospective customers desiring to open accounts have two pieces of acceptable identification along with a social security number or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). Those other forms of acceptable primary identification might include a state driver’s license or state identification card, passport or Armed Forces identification card. Acceptable secondary forms of identification may include a major credit card, gas card, department store credit card or college or student identification card with photo.