Opening a Bank Account in Antigua and Barbuda
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Trinidad and Tobago on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Trinidad and Tobago to Antigua and Barbuda · Opening a bank account
What governs account opening here is not a banking statute but the Money Laundering (Prevention) Regulations, and they are strict in a particular way: where satisfactory evidence of identity is not obtained, the institution shall not open the account, and if business has already begun it must not proceed and an established relationship must be terminated. Satisfactory evidence is defined by result rather than by a document list - evidence reasonably capable of establishing, and in fact establishing, that the applicant is who they say they are - so there is no statutory checklist a newcomer can work through. The Regulations also require the due diligence to be completed before or in the course of establishing the relationship, and they single out the greater risk where the customer is not physically present.
At a glance
- If identity is not established
- The account is not opened, and an existing relationship is terminated
Regulation 4(3)(c) of the Money Laundering (Prevention) Regulations as consolidated to 2017.
- Statutory document list
- None
"Satisfactory evidence of identity" is defined by what the evidence achieves, not by what it is. No instrument we read names a document.
- Timing of due diligence
- Before or during the establishment of the relationship
Regulation 4(3)(aa).
- Non-resident or remote customers
- Treated as higher risk by regulation
Regulation 4(3)(b) requires the procedures to take into account the greater potential for money laundering where the customer is not physically present when being identified.
Requirements
- Satisfactory evidence of identity, verified using reliable and independent source documents, data or information
- Due diligence completed before or in the course of establishing the business relationship or conducting a one-off transaction
- No account in a fictitious name and none for an anonymous customer; a numbered account only in full compliance with customer due diligence
- Additional measures where the customer is not physically present when being identified
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«(iii) B 's identity shall be verified using reliable, independent source
documents data or information.»Quoted with the spacing the consolidation carries. "A" is the regulated institution and "B" the applicant for business.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The monetary authority for the eight members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. It issues the Eastern Caribbean dollar and publishes consolidations of member states' financial-sector legislation, including the anti-money-laundering regulations that govern who may be given a bank account.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidations are a convenience and not an official edition of any member's law: an amendment made in a member state does not appear until the bank chooses to reissue, and the consolidation relied on here stops years ago. It is not a source for immigration, tax or any non-financial subject in any member, and not a source for what an individual bank requires of a customer. Where a consolidation and a member's own gazette differ, the gazette governs.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«(i) A shall not open an account for B, otherwise commence business
relations with B or perform the one-off transaction for B.»The consequence of failing identification is absolute on the face of the Regulation: not a discretion to decline, a prohibition on opening.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The monetary authority for the eight members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. It issues the Eastern Caribbean dollar and publishes consolidations of member states' financial-sector legislation, including the anti-money-laundering regulations that govern who may be given a bank account.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidations are a convenience and not an official edition of any member's law: an amendment made in a member state does not appear until the bank chooses to reissue, and the consolidation relied on here stops years ago. It is not a source for immigration, tax or any non-financial subject in any member, and not a source for what an individual bank requires of a customer. Where a consolidation and a member's own gazette differ, the gazette governs.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«prohibit the opening or maintaining of an account in a fictitious
name or for an anonymous customer.»About this source
The monetary authority for the eight members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. It issues the Eastern Caribbean dollar and publishes consolidations of member states' financial-sector legislation, including the anti-money-laundering regulations that govern who may be given a bank account.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidations are a convenience and not an official edition of any member's law: an amendment made in a member state does not appear until the bank chooses to reissue, and the consolidation relied on here stops years ago. It is not a source for immigration, tax or any non-financial subject in any member, and not a source for what an individual bank requires of a customer. Where a consolidation and a member's own gazette differ, the gazette governs.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«is evidence which is reasonably capable
of establishing (and does in fact establish to the satisfaction of the person
who obtains it) that the applicant for business is the person he claims to be;»Defined by result. The institution decides what satisfies it, which is why practice varies between banks and why no document list can be published from the instrument.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The monetary authority for the eight members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. It issues the Eastern Caribbean dollar and publishes consolidations of member states' financial-sector legislation, including the anti-money-laundering regulations that govern who may be given a bank account.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidations are a convenience and not an official edition of any member's law: an amendment made in a member state does not appear until the bank chooses to reissue, and the consolidation relied on here stops years ago. It is not a source for immigration, tax or any non-financial subject in any member, and not a source for what an individual bank requires of a customer. Where a consolidation and a member's own gazette differ, the gazette governs.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«take into account the greater potential for money laundering which
arises when B is not physically present when being identified;»The provision that makes remote account opening harder for a newcomer who has not yet arrived.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The monetary authority for the eight members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. It issues the Eastern Caribbean dollar and publishes consolidations of member states' financial-sector legislation, including the anti-money-laundering regulations that govern who may be given a bank account.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidations are a convenience and not an official edition of any member's law: an amendment made in a member state does not appear until the bank chooses to reissue, and the consolidation relied on here stops years ago. It is not a source for immigration, tax or any non-financial subject in any member, and not a source for what an individual bank requires of a customer. Where a consolidation and a member's own gazette differ, the gazette governs.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
Practical notes
This record rests on one instrument: the Money Laundering (Prevention) Regulations as consolidated to 2017 and published by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. It is a consolidation by the regional monetary authority, not an edition published by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, and a later amendment would not appear in it.
We did not read the Banking Act 2015, the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act itself, or anything published by an individual bank. Nothing here states what any particular bank requires, what minimum deposit it asks for, or whether a non-resident can open an account before arriving. Those are facts about banks and would need the banks' own terms, which are primary only about themselves.
The Financial Services Regulatory Commission publishes customer due diligence guidelines, but the set we reached is addressed to internet gaming companies rather than to banks and is not used here.
Antigua and Barbuda uses the Eastern Caribbean dollar, issued by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and fixed to the United States dollar. That is context, not a finding from any instrument quoted here.
- consolidatesMoney Laundering (Prevention) Regulations, Antigua and Barbuda, consolidation of 2009 to 2017
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
About this source
The monetary authority for the eight members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. It issues the Eastern Caribbean dollar and publishes consolidations of member states' financial-sector legislation, including the anti-money-laundering regulations that govern who may be given a bank account.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidations are a convenience and not an official edition of any member's law: an amendment made in a member state does not appear until the bank chooses to reissue, and the consolidation relied on here stops years ago. It is not a source for immigration, tax or any non-financial subject in any member, and not a source for what an individual bank requires of a customer. Where a consolidation and a member's own gazette differ, the gazette governs.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source