Customer journey / Onboarding

Entering into a business relationship is the legal concept designating the moment when a business relationship is formed between a regulated professional and its customer. It is not a commercial synonym for onboarding: it is what triggers the verification obligations. Under French law, the Monetary and Financial Code requires the customer and, where applicable, the beneficial owner to be identified, and that identity to be verified against a reliable document before the relationship is entered into, subject to framed exceptions allowing verification to be completed afterwards. It also requires information to be collected on the purpose and intended nature of the relationship, which then serves as the reference for judging whether a transaction is consistent.