This may be helpful. The War on Terrorism has changed many procedures in the United States, including banking. President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act into legislation in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Part of the legislation includes stricter regulations on banks when it comes to opening new accounts. Under Section 326 of the Patriot Act, banks must have a customer identification program or CIP. Although CIP guidelines went into effect in May 2003, banks had until October 1, 2003 to implement their own programs. Many banks already had ID verification procedures in place but they didn't require as many identifiers as the Patriot Act now requires. Banks must use several documents to verify customer’s identification. Identification information includes the customer's name, date of birth, address and ID number. For U.S. citizens, the identification number is their taxpayer ID number, which is their Social Security number. For non-citizens, it is the number of a government issued document such as a passport, alien identification number or other government issued document with a photo and a number and country of issuance. This ACT now makes it illegal to be homeless and have a bank account. No home address, No Bank Account. No Government Services to the homeless people. No getting a Social Security check that you worked for, for your entire life.
