Bank asking for passport number and driving licence number

Barry_Man

I have a one year bond with a small UK bank.

As part of the sign-up process they asked for my passport number and driving licence number (but not copies of the passport / driving licence details).

Now, half way thru the 1 year term they have asked me again for this information as part of "regulatory due diligence obligations".

I have no problems with them conducting due diligence.

But my query is specifically this: Given that they are only asking for the passport / driving licence numbers, do such organisations have the ability to then cross check with HMPO / DVLA? If not I'm not sure why I would want to supply this information (e.g. concerns about identity theft).

meer53

Yes they do.

surreysaver

It would bother me that the DVLA and Passport service would be willing to give out the information too, or to confirm with organisations that information provided to them is correct....

RuthnJasper

surreysaver wrote: »

It would bother me that the DVLA and Passport service would be willing to give out the information too, or to confirm with organisations that information provided to them is correct....

I don't think the DVLA or Passport Service would give out that information. The bank is asking the OP to provide the details, not them.

OP - I would imagine that it is for ID checking, etc. My bank asked for this information from me as well.

Barry_Man

RuthnJasper

Not sure you've got the drift. The bank has asked for just the passport and driving licence numbers. In themselves, the numbers don't tell them anything. Hence the question I have posed.

RuthnJasper

Barry_Man wrote: »

RuthnJasper

Not sure you've got the drift. The bank has asked for just the passport and driving licence numbers. In themselves, the numbers don't tell them anything. Hence the question I have posed.

OK, well in that case I would say that they are proof of ID and certain organisations can check with the DVLA that the licence number matches up with a name. They won't necessarily get any other details about your address or driving history, but a name and number confirmation could be proof to the bank that you are, indeed, who you say you are.

Barry_Man

meer53

Thanks for the reply - is it possible to substantiate this in any way (e.g. a link to a website that covers this)?

colsten

Banks, and even some bookies, regularly use the (UK or other country) passport number, name and DOB to confirm the identity if a person against the passport DB. They also use the DL number and name to confirm the address against DVLA records.

If they didn't compare the numbers given to them with any official database, the numbers would be useless.

macca1974

Not sure about any links that banks have with the DVLA etc, but don't discount that this is a backside covering exercise on the part of the bank to meet their "Anti-Money Laundering Requirements". I've worked in financial services for some larger companies in the past and one of the "tick boxes" required was that you held the passport number / Driving licence number on file as this proved the customers identity.

It wouldn't surprise me if the bank in question has done a review of their records and realised that they hadn't kept the data that was taken originally and need the numbers to meet the requirements of their regulator.

Barry_Man

macca1974

"you held the passport number / Driving licence number on file as this proved the customers identity"

But that's the point - the numbers prove diddly squat unless they have been cross checked against an official record.

noh

Barry_Man wrote: »

macca1974

"you held the passport number / Driving licence number on file as this proved the customers identity"

But that's the point - the numbers prove diddly squat unless they have been cross checked against an official record.

Google "passport validation service"
One result is http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=17284