# Japan FSA Urges Crypto Firms To Accelerate IC-Chip KYC Shift

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/28891
Published: 2026-10-09T11:20:13.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-09T11:20:13.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The formal deadline remains April 1, 2027, but the regulator wants financial institutions to move sooner from document-photo uploads to chip-based checks.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency urged financial institutions, including crypto-asset exchanges, to move ahead of a planned shift from uploaded identity-document photos to IC-chip verification.

The regulator issued the request Oct. 9, ahead of revised rules taking effect April 1, 2027. The rules will generally discontinue online identity checks based on images of identity documents and require institutions to read information stored on document chips instead.

The formal deadline has not changed, and each institution can decide when to complete the transition. Until then, the agency wants firms conducting remote identity checks to examine document images and customer facial photos more rigorously for signs of manipulation or impersonation.

The agency also called for reviews of cybersecurity measures, including third-party risk management and procedures for responding to incidents. Firms are expected to address weaknesses based on financial-sector cybersecurity guidance and measures developed in response to emerging artificial-intelligence threats.

The change will affect crypto-asset exchanges that verify customers remotely during account opening. Methods using a smartphone photo of an identity document and a selfie will need to give way to chip-based verification, including checks using Japan’s My Number Card.