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On May 19, the White House issued a new executive order aiming to strengthen customer identification requirements within the financial system, specifically focusing on citizenship-related risk factors.
The order is focused on strengthening how financial institutions identify customers and assess potential risks within the financial system. Federal agencies have been directed to review current rules and consider whether additional information (potentially including citizenship-related details) should be collected to better understand who is opening accounts and accessing financial services. The administration says the goal is to help detect illicit activity and ensure the safety and stability of the financial system.
The order does not immediately change requirements for credit unions, but it signals that updates could be coming through future guidance or rulemaking. America’s Credit Unions (ACU) has already raised concerns about proposals to expand citizenship verification requirements, including in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in April. ACU noted that credit unions already follow strict identity verification rules when opening accounts and warned that adding new requirements could create operational challenges, especially for smaller institutions (to read ACUs’ release, click here). Federal regulators are expected to provide more details in the coming months, including whether new rules will be proposed and what they might look like.
The League will continue to monitor developments and work with America’s Credit Unions to ensure credit unions have a voice as policies are considered.