On November 28th, the official website of the People's Bank of China released the "Management Measures for Customer Due Diligence and Customer Identity Information and Transaction Record Preservation of Financial Institutions" (hereinafter referred to as the "Management Measures"), emphasizing that financial institutions should conduct customer due diligence based on risks, balance money laundering risk prevention and control with optimizing financial services. Among them, the regulation of "registering the source of funds for personal cash deposits and withdrawals exceeding 50000 yuan" has been cancelled, which is consistent with the previous draft for soliciting opinions, and can be said to be "strict if necessary, and released when necessary". The Management Measures shall come into effect on January 1, 2026. The "Management Measures" have cancelled the investigation item of "registering the source of funds for personal cash deposits and withdrawals exceeding 50000 yuan", which has attracted widespread attention and discussion in society. Many people's first reaction is that withdrawing money will be more convenient and the procedures will be simpler. However, it should be emphasized that the optimization of the new regulations does not reduce the due diligence and fund security responsibilities of financial institutions, but rather puts forward more refined and scientific requirements for risk management and financial services of financial institutions. Financial security is an important component of national security. In order to prevent and curb illegal and criminal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing, maintain the stability of financial order, and protect the property safety of the people, it is necessary and important for financial institutions to conduct due diligence on customers and keep relevant identity information and transaction records. These measures are like a safety valve, which can effectively identify and intercept suspicious funds and illegal fund flows, prevent the financial system from being exploited by criminals, and prevent bank customers' funds from being damaged. However, many people are annoyed by the "thorough investigation" of banks. Whether it is deposit withdrawal or transfer remittance, once a specific amount is reached, customers have to face a series of inquiries from bank staff about the source and purpose of the funds. Some customers feel that the bank investigation has caused inconvenience, resulting in a poor customer experience, and some customers choose to take legal action due to dissatisfaction with the bank's inquiry methods. The core of these contradictions lies in the past bank's "one size fits all" investigation method, which failed to effectively distinguish between high and low risks, causing some low-risk, normal trading customers to bear unnecessary compliance costs. According to the new version of the "Management Measures", banks will no longer uniformly ask all withdrawals, but this does not mean that banks can relax their management, nor does it mean that customer fund security has been compromised. On the contrary, the new regulations have put forward more precise and professional requirements for banks' due diligence work. Banks should focus their limited management resources on the real risk points. Simply put, banks need to 'look at people and serve them' - for customers who have been assessed as low-risk and regular transactions, the investigation and registration process will be significantly simplified, and customers will be more 'indifferent' and have a better experience; For customers who engage in abnormal trading behavior or belong to high-risk areas, banks not only ask a few more questions, but also must initiate "enhanced due diligence" to gain a deeper understanding of the source and destination of funds, and if necessary, take management measures that match the risks. Differentiated investigation management measures may appear to loosen restrictions for customers, but in reality, they are increasing the bank's risk control capabilities. Article 9 of the Management Measures stipulates that banks shall conduct customer due diligence, register basic customer identity information, and retain necessary identification documents when handling cash remittances, cash exchanges, and other transactions with a transaction amount of RMB 50000 or more. Obviously, these basic survey registration requirements have not been relaxed. But banks can no longer rely on simple monetary thresholds to mechanically conduct due diligence, and must establish a more sensitive and dynamic risk assessment system that comprehensively utilizes multi-dimensional information such as customer identity, transaction history, and behavior patterns to accurately identify and anchor potential risks. Currently, criminal activities such as money laundering, telecommunications fraud, and online gambling are still prevalent, with constantly evolving methods and stronger concealment. In this situation, the due diligence behavior of banks not only cannot be weakened, but also needs to be further standardized and optimized. Banks need to find a balance between ensuring fund security and providing customer convenience. On the one hand, they need to enhance their level of technological empowerment and use big data and artificial intelligence to improve the accuracy of risk identification. On the other hand, they need to grasp the boundaries of management services. They should not ask questions that should not be asked, but ask questions that should be asked clearly and thoroughly, so that customers can feel respected and professional. Financial security concerns everyone's wallet, and due diligence by banks concerns the rights of customers. Customers should also take responsibility for this, provide more understanding and cooperation, and show more patience. (New Society)