This policy sets out the Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering standards applied by Mutual Life Africa across all products, currencies, and regions.
Mutual Life Africa is committed to preventing its products and services from being used for money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, or any other financial crime. This policy establishes the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework applied across all Mutual Life Africa products, platforms, and regions.
Mutual Life Africa operates in multiple jurisdictions and is subject to applicable financial crime prevention legislation in each. This policy is aligned with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations and applicable national legislation including, but not limited to, South African Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), United States Bank Secrecy Act requirements, and applicable European Union AML directives.
Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all customers, group administrators, and entities seeking to access Mutual Life Africa products and services.
This policy applies to:
All customers must complete KYC verification before a policy can be activated, a credit facility can be disbursed, or a claim payment can be processed. The following information is required:
| Requirement | Acceptable Documents |
|---|---|
| Proof of identity | Valid national ID card, passport, or government-issued identity document |
| Date of birth | As confirmed on the identity document |
| Nationality | As stated on the identity document |
| Contact details | Valid email address and phone number |
| Residential address | Required for credit applicants and high-value policy applications |
Organisations. Group administrators and business policyholders must additionally provide proof of business registration, including a certificate of incorporation or equivalent, and identity verification for the named group administrator.
Mutual Life Africa uses a combination of self-service digital verification and authorised third-party identity verification to complete KYC checks.
Self-service verification. Customers may complete identity verification directly through the Mutual Africa Pay platform by submitting their identity document and completing the required verification steps. This process is available to all customers across all supported regions.
Third-party verification. Where additional verification is required, or where self-service verification cannot be completed, Mutual Life Africa uses an authorised third-party identity verification provider. The third-party provider conducts independent checks against identity databases and applicable watchlists. Personal data shared with the third-party provider is governed by binding data processing agreements.
Verification timeline. Standard KYC verification is completed within 1 to 3 business days of submission. Where additional documentation or manual review is required, Mutual Life Africa will notify the customer by email and provide a revised timeline.
Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is applied to higher-risk customers and transactions. EDD may be triggered by any of the following:
Where EDD is required, Mutual Life Africa may request additional documentation, delay policy activation or claim payment pending review, and in some cases decline the application or transaction.
Mutual Life Africa is committed to detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The following AML controls are applied across all products and transactions:
All customers, group administrators, and beneficiaries are screened against applicable international sanctions lists and watchlists at the time of onboarding and on an ongoing basis. These include:
KYC and AML compliance is not limited to onboarding. Mutual Life Africa conducts ongoing monitoring of all active accounts and policies to ensure that customer profiles remain accurate and that no unusual activity goes undetected.
Periodic re-verification. Mutual Life Africa may request updated KYC documentation from existing customers periodically or where a material change in the customer's profile or activity is identified. Customers are required to respond to re-verification requests within 30 days. Failure to respond may result in policy suspension.
Profile changes. Customers must notify Mutual Life Africa of significant changes to their circumstances, including changes of name, nationality, or country of residence, that may affect their KYC or risk profile.
Mutual Life Africa reserves the right to decline, suspend, or terminate any application, policy, or transaction where KYC verification cannot be satisfactorily completed. This includes where:
Where a policy is declined or terminated for KYC reasons, Mutual Life Africa will notify the customer by email. Premiums paid for periods during which cover was active will not be refunded. Mutual Life Africa is not obligated to disclose the specific reason for a KYC-related refusal where doing so would constitute tipping off.
Mutual Life Africa retains KYC and AML records in accordance with applicable legal requirements. All identity documents, verification records, transaction records, and compliance screening outcomes are retained for a minimum of 5 years from the date of account closure, and for a minimum of 10 years where a suspicious activity report has been filed.
Records are stored securely and are accessible only to authorised compliance personnel and regulatory authorities where legally required. All record retention and disposal is conducted in accordance with Mutual Life Africa's Data Protection and Sharing policy.
Personal information collected for KYC and AML purposes is processed in accordance with Mutual Life Africa's Data Protection and Sharing policy, the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where applicable.
KYC data is used solely for identity verification, compliance screening, and legal reporting purposes. It is not used for marketing and is not shared beyond what is required for regulatory compliance.
Where KYC verification is conducted through the Mutual Africa Pay platform or a third-party provider, personal data shared is governed by binding data processing agreements that require equivalent standards of data protection and security.
Customers have the right to access their KYC records held by Mutual Life Africa by submitting a written request to privacy@mutuallife.africa. Requests will be fulfilled within 30 days, subject to identity verification and any applicable legal restrictions on disclosure.
