Art. 2 Criteria for distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction | RTS on criteria for business relationships and occasional transactions | AML

This article builds directly on Article 1, which defines the distinction between a business relationship and an occasional transaction, by providing obliged entities with concrete criteria to apply when making that distinction in practice.

The article takes a layered approach: it first sets out criteria that apply to all obliged entities, then drills down into sector-specific guidance for particular types of entities, such as currency exchange offices, money remittance providers, crypto-asset service providers, gambling operators, and those involved in football player transfers.

The overarching focus is on two definitional elements — duration and repetition — and how different facts and circumstances should inform an entity's assessment of which category a customer interaction falls into.

Important points:

All obliged entities must consider whether a customer has been granted ongoing access to services as a marker of duration when classifying an interaction as a business relationship rather than an occasional transaction.
Sector-specific criteria apply to certain obliged entities — for example, currency exchange offices, money remittance providers, and crypto-asset service providers must treat three or more transactions within the last 12 months as an indicator of repetition.
Obliged entities involved in football player transfers must factor in the existence of conditional obligations associated with the transfer when assessing repetition or duration.

1. Obliged entities shall, for the purpose of distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction, at least take into account whether the customer has been granted ongoing access to services falling within the scope of the AML/CTF framework as a criterion when considering the element of duration included in the definition of a business relationship.
1. Obliged entities as defined in Article 3(3), points (a) to (d) and (l), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 shall, for the purpose of distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction, at least take into account whether the provision of a service requires multiple actions carried out over a substantial period of time when considering the element of duration included in the definition of a business relationship.
1. Obliged entities as defined in Article 3(3), points (a) to (d) and (l), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 shall, for the purpose of distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction, at least take into account the following criteria when considering the element of repetition included in the definition of a business relationship:
  1. the provision of services at different intervals;
  2. the provision of different services.
1. Obliged entities carrying out the activities of currency exchange offices (bureaux de change), obliged entities engaged in the activity of money remittance as defined in Article 4, point (22), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 and obliged entities providing crypto-asset services as set out in Article 3(1), points (16)(c), (d) and (j), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 shall, for the purpose of distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction, at least take into account carrying out three or more transactions within the last 12 months as a criterion when considering the element of repetition included in the definition of a business relationship.
1. Obliged entities as defined in Article 3(3), point (g), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 shall, when operating from physical premises for the purpose of distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction, at least take into account engagement in the services of the provider through a voluntary membership scheme as a criterion when considering the element of repetition included in the definition of a business relationship.
1. Obliged entities as defined in Article 3(3), points (n) and (o), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 that are involved in the transfer of a football player shall, for the purpose of distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction, at least take into account the existence of conditional obligations associated with the transfer as a criterion when considering the element of repetition or duration included in the definition of a business relationship.

Article 2 Criteria for distinguishing a business relationship from an occasional transaction

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