KYC in Bahrain

Know Your Customer requirements in Bahrain are set by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) under Decree Law No. 4 of 2001 with respect to the Prohibition of and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, and the CBB Rulebook Financial Crime modules. Regulated firms verify customers using the Bahrain ID card (CPR) for citizens and residents, and passports for visitors, screen them against sanctions and PEP lists, assess risk and keep records for inspection.

Regulator and legal framework

KYC and AML obligations in Bahrain are supervised by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The primary legislation is Decree Law No. 4 of 2001 with respect to the Prohibition of and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, and the CBB Rulebook Financial Crime modules, aligned with FATF recommendations and supplemented by regulator instructions on customer due diligence, record keeping and electronic onboarding.

Identity documents used

Customers are typically verified with the Bahrain ID card (CPR) for citizens and residents, and passports for visitors. Automated verification checks the document's authenticity, reads its data, including non-Latin scripts where present, and matches the holder biometrically with liveness detection.

Points to note

• The CBB Rulebook sets detailed customer due-diligence requirements across financial sectors.
• Bahrain has an active fintech and open-banking framework supporting digital onboarding.
• The CPR card is the primary identity document.
• The Personal Data Protection Law applies to biometric data.

How IDWise supports KYC in Bahrain

IDWise configures journeys, document rules, screening lists and retention per market, with deployment and residency options on AWS, GCP and Azure or a hybrid model with data stored on customer premises.

Frequently asked questions

Related terms