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SWIFT has announced that the KYC (Know Your Customer) Registry is now available to fund distributors and custodians.
A statement said, “In response to an identified need within its community, SWIFT is extending the reach of the KYC Registry beyond correspondent banking to support Know Your Customer compliance requirements for funds distribution and custody services.
“The registry offers a unique approach to KYC compliance by providing access to a standardised set of qualified data and documentation needed to fulfil KYC obligations. Similar to banks, fund distributors and custodians will now be able to contribute an agreed ‘baseline’ set of data and documentation for validation by SWIFT, which the contributors can then share with their counterparties.
“All registry users retain full ownership of their KYC information, along with control over who can access the data via the secure online platform.”
“Fund distributors and custodians face similar challenges to banks with KYC due diligence,” said Mark Gem, head of compliance at Clearstream and chairman of the SWIFT Securities Compliance Working Group. “Therefore, I am pleased that SWIFT is extending the reach of The KYC Registry, building upon its momentum in correspondent banking.”
Launched in 2014, the KYC Registry provides a simple, secure way for financial institutions to exchange a standardised set of information required for compliance, “increasing efficiency and reducing risk”.
