ATMs without face recognition suspended in Macau

The AMCM has suspended cash withdrawals from ATMs which operate without the face recognition technology.

Macau.- “Know-Your-Customer” (KYC) face recognition technology was recently introduced as mandatory and the Monetary Authority of Macau has confirmed the suspension of cash withdrawals from Union Pay ATMs which operate without it.

The AMCM said in a statement posted on the Macau Government Information Bureau website, that the measure was introduced “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”, as Gambling Insider reported.

The organisation recently requested banks to upgrade their ATM machines in order to improve security measures by implementing the KYC system earlier this year. The decision is part of a series of different measures designed to fight money laundering in the region.

The AMCM “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,” said the body and added: “Relevant services will be resumed as soon as the KYC function is installed.”