Latvia
Latvijas Banka, the central bank, supervises banks, payment and e-money institutions, crypto-asset service providers and insurers, including for AML; the European Central Bank authorises banks and the State Revenue Service supervises gambling. The Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia receives suspicious transaction reports. Cabinet Regulation No. 392 sets four remote onboarding methods. Telecoms, healthcare, travel, eCommerce and public services follow their own identity rules.
Compliance guides by industry
More countries in this region
Launching in a new market?
Navigate local compliance requirements with confidence. Identomat helps you build verification workflows tailored to your business and the markets you operate in.
Frequrently asked questions
Latvijas Banka, the central bank, supervises banks, payment and e-money institutions, crypto-asset service providers and life insurers for anti-money laundering purposes, and the European Central Bank authorises banks. The State Revenue Service supervises gambling operators and traders paid EUR 10,000 or more in cash. The Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia receives suspicious transaction reports and threshold declarations.
Yes. A customer identified remotely triggers enhanced due diligence unless the firm has risk controls and uses one of four methods in Cabinet Regulation No. 392: a qualified e-signature or eID, live video identification, identity data from a bank or payment institution, or a document photo matched to a selfie. The last two are barred for customers linked to high-risk or low-tax countries.
Every suspicious transaction, without delay, including by businesses outside the anti-money laundering law. Obliged entities also file threshold declarations: banks and payment providers for cash transactions of EUR 7,000 or more and cross-border payments of EUR 500,000 or more, gambling operators for transactions of EUR 2,000 or more, and life insurers for payouts or surrenders of EUR 100,000 or more.
Face matching that uniquely identifies a person processes special-category data under the GDPR and needs an Article 9(2) condition. The Data State Inspectorate's view is that private-sector facial recognition rests on consent unless a legal act provides for it. For anti-money laundering obliged entities, Cabinet Regulation No. 392 requires biometric comparison in video and selfie identification, processing the AML law treats as in the public interest.
Latvia must offer an EU Digital Identity Wallet by 24 December 2026, and larger private firms that use strong online authentication must accept it by 24 December 2027. The EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation applies from 10 July 2027 and allows verification by eID at level substantial or high. Prepaid SIM registration starts on 1 September 2027, and AMLA's draft standards, not yet adopted, would make remote document checks a fallback.