Macau suspends ATMs without identity recognition technology

Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) has confirmed the suspension of cash withdrawals from Union Pay ATMs which operate without “Know-Your-Customer (KYC)” identity recognition technology.

In a statement made on the Macau Government Information Bureau website, the AMCM said it was introducing the measure to “to protect the legal interests of financial institutions and Mainland China Union Pay (CUP) cardholders, as well as to ensure the effectiveness of the measure to monitor ATM cash withdrawals by Mainland CUP cards”.

The move follows an AMCM request that banks upgrade their terminals to include the ability to scan identification and conduct facial recognition earlier this year, as part of a range of measures designed to combat money laundering in Macau and neighbouring China.

The AMCM said that it “has been requesting banks to speed up the implementation and is striving, in collaboration with each bank, to cover all ATMs in Macao including those inside casinos and in their surrounding areas by this year-end.”

It added that: “Relevant services will be resumed as soon as the KYC function is installed.”

At present there are 834 Union Pay ATMs operating in Macau which utilise the KYC technology.

Individuals who hold bankcards issued by other banks/jurisdictions can withdraw cash from all ATMs, however AMCM officials said that the requirement for KYC technology to access cash withdrawals would be extended to other mainland bankcards at a later stage.