Identity Verification in Mexico
Question
We are working with an AML/KYC compliance company who want to offer their services in Mexico. We understand the main form of ID in Mexico to be the IFE (Federal Electoral Institute) card, as more people carry this than the state issued card. Can anyone point us towards an ID identification company in Mexico that can check the cards against the Government database? Electronically preferably – in bulk. Experian is the only main provider we have found so far that cover the IFE cards, but they simply check the card is not a fake, rather than checking the biometric data.
Answer
Hi Anthony,
Can I recommend you look instead at using tax IDs (know as RFCs), instead of IFE details? A valid IFE will only really confirm the mexican individual is eligible to vote and has an up-to-date I card (and this is easily checked online). Nearly every mexican person (and company) will have an RFC and if you’re specifically doing due diligence on somebody, you can easily cross-reference their data against an online black-list that is available on www.sat.org.mx – anyone who owes the Hacienda taxes, or has been involved in money laundering or businesses that have not been located at given addresses, has been published on this website!
Saludos,
Julian
Answer
Thank you Julian. Am I right in thinking that an individual’s RFC is the CURP?
Answer
Sorry Julian, let me add: do you know of any way to bulk check the validity of RFCs? If our client is taking on 200-300 people a day, then manually inserting each CURP and checking it through a site will be a significant compliance cost.
Thank you again,
Anthony