New FIC Guidance Note 7B Introduces Key AML Compliance Updates

This article will count 0.25 units (15 minutes) of unverifiable CPD. Remember to log these units under your membership profile.

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has published the final Guidance Note 7B (GN 7B) following a public consultation process held during June 2026. Guidance Note 7B is aimed at accountable institutions, businesses that are required to comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FIC Act), including banks, financial services providers, property practitioners, legal practitioners, crypto asset service providers and many accounting practices. It provides practical guidance on how these institutions should apply certain anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and proliferation financing requirements.

What is Proliferation Financing?

One of the key updates is the inclusion of proliferation financing throughout the guidance. In simple terms, proliferation financing refers to the provision of funds or financial services that support the development, manufacture, acquisition or spread of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, and their related materials. The FIC has updated the guidance to reflect South Africa's obligations to prevent this type of financing.

Key Changes

The final Guidance Note 7B introduces several important updates, including:

• incorporating proliferation financing alongside money laundering and terrorist financing;

• providing additional guidance on assessing the risks posed by new and developing technologies;

• clarifying when simplified due diligence (SDD) may be applied; and

• explaining when enhanced due diligence (EDD) should be performed.

What Changed Following the Consultation?

During the consultation, industry participants raised concerns about several aspects of the draft guidance. In response, the FIC confirmed that simplified due diligence should continue to be applied where appropriate under an institution's risk-based approach. It also clarified that accountable institutions are not expected to report every internal alert. Instead, they should first investigate suspicious activity, submit a report only where the activity is found to be reportable under section 29 of the FIC Act, and then conduct enhanced due diligence where required.