SWIFT has created a global Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry, a centralized utility for the collection and distribution of standard information required by banks as part of their due diligence processes.
Based on a collaborative industry-wide approach, the new utility will help banks to manage compliance challenges and reduce the high costs associated with implementing KYC-related regulations.
SWIFT’s KYC Registry is currently under development and will go live in 2014. The new service will provide banks with access to a central repository of up-to-date institutional information collected by SWIFT from participating banks. SWIFT will host and manage the utility, verifying the completeness, validity and accuracy of the data provided, whilst member banks will retain ownership of and responsibility for their own information. The KYC Registry will initially focus on correspondent banking requirements, which is the most urgent challenge facing the industry, but SWIFT may subsequently extend the service.
Yawar Shah, chairman, SWIFT, said: “The Board has given SWIFT a strong mandate to address the financial crime compliance needs of banks worldwide. This is a natural evolution for SWIFT as an industry-wide cooperative, extending its strategic offering beyond payments and securities into compliance services.”
The KYC Registry is the latest in an expanding set of financial crime compliance solutions from SWIFT. The portfolio already includes Sanctions Screening and Sanctions Testing tools, and will soon be complemented by a new business intelligence for compliance service.
SWIFT Creates Global KYC Registry
SWIFT has created a global Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry, a centralized utility for the collection and distribution of standard information required by banks as part of their due diligence processes.