No ID required for new account

I'm nearing the end of an application for an Alliance & Leicester current account and at no point have they asked me for any ID to prove who I am. In this day and age of paranoia and suspicion I find it odd that a bank is prepared to offer a current account with an automatic £1,000 overdraft just based on what I have told them online.

I spoke to A&L about this and they assured me that all they need is the details provided online in order to verify my ID, but I can't help feeling a little uneasy about it. Obviously, it is much easier than the usual rigmarole of providing tons of documentation, but it just seems a little too easy to me. I'd be interested to know what other peoples' experiences are when trying to open a new bank account?

Michael Clarke, This is Money

DEAL FINDER: Compare and apply for current accounts

Comments

[tango]

All the banks/building societies have gone completely insane on this ID nonsense. one building society i tried wouldnt take an opening cheque from another b/soc.???? they all have different ID requirements for opening accounts, its nothing at all to do wth "international terrorism" or "drugs barons" and everything to do wth a USA and EU drive to stick their noses into EVERY aspect of your life including very much your financial life, so they can control you. They want you to be so sick of all these security requirements they can then turn round and say "its so much simpler if you all have id cards with ALL your private details on them" the politicians weren`t born yesterday but they sure hope you were.

[David Spruce]

I have worked for a houshold name bank (ex-building society) for 6 years and know all the staff at my local branch on both private and business matters. We live in a small village and our kids play with each other after school. When we wanted to open a new account, we were still required to provide the usual proof of identity. This is despite the fact that I had in the last 2 weeks been on a training course with the cashier - how paranoid are we going to get before common sense takes over????

[mark]

Recent enhancement in technology has meant that banks are able to verify your identity electronically.

This is in response to FSA demands that banks make it easier to open an account.

Banks will not reveal how they ID you electronically, or the system would be abused.

[Mike]

Well, not the experience that I had. They seemed to want to see everything bar the kitchen sink, so much so that I could not be bothered and gave up the whole idea.

[Richard]

Given the numerous tutorials I've endured on Money Laundering and 'Know Your Customer' I find it astonishing that the compliance departments of these banks (e.g. A&L) don't have a stronger view on new a/c openings….maybe they (or the FSA) would like to comment further?

[Gavin Phillips]

I haven't opened an account for a while. But my wife recently tried to close 2 sharesave accounts at the Halifax. Only to be told she needed ID, but her Visa card would do.

Unfortunately the till operator doing the closing would only accept a Driving Licence or Passport.

How would you know about the money if it wasn't your account? And as they were to pay in the form of a cheque, the next institution along would have made the appropriate checks, unless of course it was A and L.

Gavin.