Source: AMLA consultation paper draft
- Anti-money laundering
AMLR supplemental acts
- RTS on customer due diligence
Article 31 Risk factors
This is a draft act
This text has been parsed from the AMLA consultation paper draft as published on 9 February 2026. While we run a suite of validations, the automated parsing can result in errors. Also, before it is finally adopted by the Commission, its wording, numbering and references may change, and entire articles might be removed or added.
Summary What does Article 31 of the RTS on customer due diligence say?
This article directly supports the exemption framework established in Article 19(7) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, which permits supervisors to grant exemptions from certain customer due diligence requirements for specific payment instruments.
Article 31 provides supervisors with a checklist of risk factors they must weigh when deciding how far-reaching any such exemption should be.
The factors collectively paint a picture of how contained and low-risk a payment instrument is — looking at things like transaction limits, fund origin traceability, geographic reach, distribution controls, and the degree to which the instrument operates within an already-regulated ecosystem.
Important points:
- Supervisors are required to consider one or more of the listed risk factors when determining the scope of a CDD exemption granted under Article 19(7) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624.
- Supervisors must assess characteristics of the payment instrument itself, such as transaction limits, limited duration, restricted geography, and whether distribution runs through obliged entities already applying CDD measures.
- Supervisors must also weigh whether funds can be traced back to an EEA-regulated account and whether the issuer uses technological controls, such as geo-fencing and IP tracking, to restrict access to non-EU/EEA countries.
Springlex's summary of the article, a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
Where supervisors decide to allow for an exemption under Article 19(7) Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, based on the conditions listed in Article 19(7), points (a) to (d), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, supervisors shall consider one or more of the following risk factors to determine the extent of that exemption:
the extent to which the payment instrument has low transaction limits or thresholds to limit transaction values;
the extent to which the issuer can verify that the funds originate from an account held and controlled solely or jointly by the customer at an EEA-regulated credit or financial institution;
the extent to which the payment instrument is issued at a nominal or no charge;
the nature and the range of the goods or services that can be acquired, including the level of risks associated with these goods and services;
the extent to which the payment instrument is valid in one or multiple Member States and its issuer is regulated by a national or regional public authority for specific social or tax purposes to acquire specific goods or services from suppliers having a commercial agreement with the issuer;
the extent to which the transactions through the electronic money instrument are executed by an obliged entity that applies customer due diligence measures and record-keeping requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2024/1624;
the extent to which the payment instrument has a specific and limited duration in which the payment instrument can be used;
the extent to which the payment instrument is available through direct channels which may include the issuer or a network of service providers and, in the case of online or non-face- to-face distributions, possess adequate safeguards, including electronic signatures, and anti-impersonation fraud measures;
the extent to which distribution is limited to intermediaries that are themselves obliged entities applying customer due diligence measures and record-keeping requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2024/1624;
the extent to which the payment instrument has a limited geographical distribution;
the extent to which the issuer applies adequate technological tools, including geo-fencing and IP tracking, to restrict access from, transfers to or receiving funds from countries that are not EU Member States nor EEA countries.
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
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
crypto-asset
Definition
property
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