A financial institution accepts new on-line customers.

According to the CAMS Certification Package - 6th Edition1, one of the essential components of customer due diligence is verifying the identity of the customer using reliable and independent sources. This verification process should be done before or during the establishment of the business relationship, and should not be delayed unless there is a low risk of money laundering or terrorist financing, and the delay is necessary to avoid interrupting the normal course of business. Therefore, after customers have provided acceptable identification, the financial institution should next confirm the validity of the customer information, as option A suggests. Option B is not necessary, as an electronic picture of each customer is not a mandatory requirement for customer verification, and may not be feasible or effective in some cases. Option C is not the next step, as closely monitoring the account for 30 days is part of the ongoing due diligence process, which should be performed after the customer verification is completed and the account is established. Option D is not advisable, as establishing the account based on the information provided without verifying its validity may expose the financial institution to money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and may violate the KYC and AML regulations.

1: CAMS Certification Package - 6th Edition | ACAMS, Chapter 3: Compliance Standards for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), pages 69-70.