Banks seeking to increase efficiency and reduce risk related to their correspondent banking know-your-customer (KYC) compliance activities now have a new resource at their fingertips. SWIFT this week announced the official availability of the KYC Registry, a community-driven financial crime compliance initiative that more than 20 global and regional banks have joined.
The KYC Registry provides a simple, secure way to exchange a standardized set of information for correspondent banking due diligence. Banks contribute an agreed ‘baseline’ set of data and documentation for validation by SWIFT, which the contributors can then share with their counterparties. Each bank retains ownership of its own information, as well as control over which other institutions can view it.
