Source: OJ L, 2024/1624, 19.6.2024Current language: EN
- Anti-money laundering
Basic legislative acts
- Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR)
Article 19 Application of customer due diligence measures
Summary What does Article 19 of the Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) say?
This is a foundational article that establishes when obliged entities must trigger customer due diligence (CDD).
It sets out the core circumstances that require CDD to be applied — including entering a business relationship, carrying out transactions above certain monetary thresholds, and situations involving suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing.
Crucially, it feeds directly into Article 20, which defines what those CDD measures actually consist of.
The article also tailors its requirements for specific sectors, with distinct thresholds and rules for credit institutions, crypto-asset service providers, gambling service providers, and electronic money products, reflecting that a single threshold does not fit all contexts.
Important points:
- Apply customer due diligence whenever establishing a business relationship, conducting an occasional transaction of EUR 10 000 or more, or when any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing arises — the suspicion trigger applies regardless of any exemption or threshold.
- Different monetary thresholds apply depending on the type of obliged entity: credit and financial institutions must apply CDD for fund transfers of EUR 1 000 or more, crypto-asset service providers have a EUR 1 000 threshold for full CDD and a minimum identification requirement below that, and gambling service providers must apply CDD at EUR 2 000 or more.
- Supervisors are empowered to exempt obliged entities from certain CDD requirements for low-value, non-reloadable electronic money instruments, subject to strict conditions being met.
Springlex's summary of the article, a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
Obliged entities shall apply customer due diligence measures in any of the following circumstances:
when establishing a business relationship;
when carrying out an occasional transaction of a value of at least EUR 10 000, or the equivalent in national currency, whether that transaction is carried out in a single operation or through linked transactions, or a lower value laid down pursuant to paragraph 9;
when participating in the creation of a legal entity, the setting up of a legal arrangement or, for the obliged entities referred to in Article 3, points (3) (a), (b) or (c), in the transfer of ownership of a legal entity, irrespective of the value of the transaction;
when there is a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing, regardless of any derogation, exemption or threshold;
when there are doubts about the veracity or adequacy of previously obtained customer identification data;
when there are doubts as to whether the person they interact with is the customer or person authorised to act on behalf of the customer.
In addition to the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1, credit institutions and financial institutions, with the exception of crypto-asset service providers, shall apply customer due diligence measures when initiating or executing an occasional transaction that constitutes a transfer of funds as defined in Article 3, point (9), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, that amounts to a value of at least EUR 1 000, or the equivalent in national currency, whether that transaction is carried out in a single operation or through linked transactions.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, point (b), crypto-asset service providers shall:
apply customer due diligence measures when carrying out an occasional transaction that amounts to a value of at least EUR 1 000, or the equivalent in national currency, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or through linked transactions;
apply at least customer due diligence measures referred to in Article 20(1), point (a), when carrying out an occasional transaction where the value is below EUR 1 000, or the equivalent in national currency, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or through linked transactions.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, point (b), obliged entities shall apply at least customer due diligence measures referred to in Article 20(1), point (a), when carrying out an occasional transaction in cash amounting to a value of at least EUR 3 000, or the equivalent in national currency, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or through linked transactions.
The first subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply where Member States have in place, pursuant to Article 80(2) and (3), a limit to large cash payments of EUR 3 000 or less, or the equivalent in national currency, except in the cases covered by paragraph 4, point (b) of that Article.
In addition to the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1, providers of gambling services shall apply customer due diligence measures upon the collection of winnings, the wagering of a stake, or both, when carrying out transactions amounting to at least EUR 2 000 or the equivalent in national currency, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or through linked transactions.
For the purposes of this Chapter, obliged entities shall consider as their customers the following persons:
in the case of obliged entities as referred to in Article 3, points (3) (e), (f) and (i) and persons trading in high value goods as referred to in Article 3, point (3) (j), in addition to their direct customer, the supplier of goods;
in the case of notaries, lawyers and other independent legal professionals intermediating a transaction and to the extent that they are the only notary or lawyer or other independent legal professional intermediating that transaction, both parties to the transaction;
in the case of real estate agents, both parties to the transaction;
in relation to payment initiation services carried out by payment initiation service providers, the merchant;
in relation to crowdfunding service providers and crowdfunding intermediaries, the natural or legal person both seeking funding and providing funding through the crowdfunding platform.
Supervisors may, directly or in cooperation with other authorities in that Member State, exempt obliged entities from applying, in full or in part, the customer due diligence measures referred to in Article 20(1), points (a), (b) and (c), with respect to electronic money on the basis of the proven low risk posed by the nature of the product, where all of the following risk-mitigating conditions are met:
the payment instrument is not reloadable, and the amount stored electronically does not exceed EUR 150 or the equivalent in national currency;
the payment instrument is used exclusively to purchase goods or services provided by the issuer, or within a network of service providers;
the payment instrument is not linked to a payment account and it does not permit any stored amount to be exchanged for cash or for crypto-assets;
the issuer carries out sufficient monitoring of the transactions or business relationship to enable the detection of unusual or suspicious transactions.
Providers of gambling services may fulfil their obligation to apply customer due diligence measures referred to in Article 20(1), point (a), by identifying the customer and verifying the customer’s identity upon entry to the casino or other physical gambling premises, provided that they have systems in place that enable them to attribute transactions to specific customers.
By 10 July 2026, AMLA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft regulatory technical standards shall specify:
the obliged entities, sectors or transactions that are associated with higher money laundering and terrorist financing risk and to which a value lower than the value set out in paragraph 1, point (b), applies;
the related occasional transaction values;
the criteria to be taken into account for identifying occasional transactions and business relationships;
the criteria to identify linked transactions.
When developing the draft regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph, AMLA shall take due account of the inherent levels of risks of the business models of the different types of obliged entities and of the risk assessment at Union level conducted by the Commission pursuant to Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640.
Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article in accordance with Articles 49 to 52 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620.
Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Definition
crypto-asset services
Definition
supervisor
Definition
financial mixed activity holding company
Definition
crypto-asset service provider
Definition
cash
Definition
electronic money
Definition
credit institution
- a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013;
- a branch of a credit institution, as defined in Article 4(1), point (17), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, when located in the Union, whether its head office is located in a Member State or in a third country;
Definition
linked transactions
Definition
crypto-asset
Definition
property
Definition
express trust
Definition
legal arrangement
Definition
crowdfunding service provider
Definition
terrorist financing
Definition
gambling service
Definition
money laundering
Definition
financial institution
- an undertaking other than a credit institution or an investment firm, which carries out one or more of the activities listed in points (2) to (12), (14) and (15) of Annex I to Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(32), including the activities of currency exchange offices (bureaux de change), but excluding the activities referred to in point (8) of Annex I to Directive (EU) 2015/2366, or an undertaking the principal activity of which is to acquire holdings, including a financial holding company, a mixed financial holding company and a financial mixed activity holding company;
- an insurance undertaking as defined in Article 13, point (1), of Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(33), insofar as it carries out life or other investment-related assurance activities covered by that Directive, including insurance holding companies and mixed-activity insurance holding companies as defined, respectively, in Article 212(1), points (f) and (g), of Directive 2009/138/EC;
- an insurance intermediary as defined in Article 2(1), point (3), of Directive (EU) 2016/97 where it acts with respect to life insurance and other investment-related insurance services, with the exception of an insurance intermediary that does not collect premiums or amounts intended for the customer and which acts under the responsibility of one or more insurance undertakings or intermediaries for the products which concern them respectively;
- an investment firm as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(34);
- a collective investment undertaking, in particular:
- an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) as defined in Article 1(2) of Directive 2009/65/EC and its management company as defined in Article 2(1), point (b), of that Directive or an investment company authorised in accordance with that Directive and which has not designated a management company, that makes available for purchase units of UCITS in the Union;
- an alternative investment fund as defined in Article 4(1), point (a), of Directive 2011/61/EU and its alternative investment fund manager as defined in Article 4(1), point (b), of that Directive that fall within the scope set out in Article 2 of that Directive;
- a central securities depository as defined in Article 2(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council(35);
- a creditor as defined in Article 4, point (2), of Directive 2014/17/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(36) and in Article 3, point (b), of Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(37);
- a credit intermediary as defined in Article 4, point (5), of Directive 2014/17/EU and in Article 3, point (f), of Directive 2008/48/EC, when holding the funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 in connection with the credit agreement, with the exception of the credit intermediary carrying out activities under the responsibility of one or more creditors or credit intermediaries;
- a crypto-asset service provider;
- a branch of a financial institution referred to in points (a) to (i), when located in the Union, whether its head office is located in a Member State or in a third country;
Definition
third country
Definition
funds
Definition
crowdfunding intermediary
- project owners, which are any natural or legal person seeking funding for projects, consisting of one or a set of predefined operations aiming at a particular objective, including fundraising for a particular cause or event irrespective of whether those projects are proposed to the public or to a limited number of funders; and
- funders, which are any natural or legal person contributing to the funding of projects, through loans, with or without interest, or donations, including where such donations entitle the donor to a non-material benefit;
Definition
business relationship