“Know your customer”, or KYC, is not something that usually sets pulses racing. It is, however, a mainstay of banks’ compliance processes, and though it can be a long, demanding process, it is a necessary one. With anti-money laundering (AML) regulation increasingly under the spotlight, corporate treasurers and their banking partners have to dedicate significant time and effort to getting this process right.
This digital KYC transformation initiative represents a significant step forward for corporate clients, and is a reference of co-sponsorship between the Bank’s Business and Compliance, in cooperation with ITO [IT Operations] and with the full support of the top management of the Bank.
The process is undergoing rapid
change. SWIFT, the standard-bearer for financial transaction communication worldwide,
created in 2014 its global KYC Registry for correspondent banks
and, based on the positive experience in the bank
community, has just extended it to corporates. Mutualisation,
standardisation and SWIFT’s quality
assurance service allows for a significant reduction of bilateral exchanges
with the bank’s counterparts, helping to reduce the lead-time for the KYC
process.
Rebecca De Cuyper, SWIFT KYC Registry initiative
lead on behalf of BNP Paribas, explains that “the positive client feedback on
the concept helped BNP Paribas in its decision to actively support the
platform’s scope extension. We are doing this by seeking alignment with other
banks, contributing to standardisation and advising on SWIFT KYC Registry’s
strategy. The global KYC solution looks to drastically simplify and digitalise
the exchange of KYC-related information, which should significantly improve the
everyday experience of corporates and banks. ”
SWIFT KYC Registry will be compatible
with BNP Paribas’ Welcome interface, feeding the bank’s ‘One KYC for Corporates’
internal repository and significantly improving corporate-bank interaction and experience.
“This digital KYC transformation initiative represents a significant step
forward for corporate clients, and is a reference of co-sponsorship between the Bank’s
Business and Compliance, in cooperation with ITO [IT Operations] and with the full
support of the top management of the bank,” says Bruno d’Illiers, BNP Paribas
Group sponsor, Global Head CIB Operations.
SWIFT, a cooperative of banks trusted
for more than 45 years with a presence in more than 200 countries worldwide ,
is the natural partner to create governance around the initiative. “SWIFT’s global
footprint is a decisive advantage,” says Philippe Frizé, Compliance sponsor, Head of KYC Domain. “Moreover, unlike some
startup proposals, we believe client data sharing is better organised in a
non-commercial organisation like SWIFT”.
SWIFT KYC Registry’s common global
standard for Corporates is the result of the extensive collaborative efforts of
36 large international banks and Corporates. With a major part of each client
bank’s KYC policy requirements covered, it marks a significant milestone in enhancing
client experience and operational efficiency. 
Today,
more than 5,500 bank entities have registered worldwide. In order to optimise
the adoption and enlarge the platform rapidly to non-SWIFT-connected multi-bank corporates, it is key that the KYC information
collection teams and bankers redirect their bank and corporate counterparts to
the KYC Registry, by encouraging them to subscribe the KYC
Registry
and contributing with
their own information.