The LEI Foundation believe that each business worldwide should have only one global identity – the Global Legal Entity Identifier. They are on a journey to increase the rate of LEI adoption so that in the future the Global LEI Index will capture an increasing number of entities engaging in financial transactions globally, providing a 360-degree view.

Systems and service suppliers are increasingly using the LEI as the basis of their systems and services. One of the latest partners is Contour, the trade finance network.

Contour partnership with GLEIF 

Contour, the digital trade finance network, has partnered with the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) to enable the use of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) within its network and to financially support its members in obtaining their own LEI. 

By adopting the established universal entity identifier, Contour’s members will benefit from increased confidence amongst their trading counterparties, lower data reconciliation costs, reduced transaction discrepancies and improved risk management.

The LEI, provided by GLEIF, is a 20-character ISO 17442 code used across markets and jurisdictions that provides businesses with a unique identity. The code connects to annually verified business reference data and ownership structure information about a legal entity in a freely accessible online registry – the LEI Index. This can be quickly checked by anyone at any time, enabling organisations to know precisely who they are doing business with. The verifiable company data that the LEI provides results in greater trust and visibility in the marketplace between trade participants.

 Global trade partnership

As trade becomes more globalised, it has become increasingly difficult for businesses to accurately identify information related to the parties they trade with. The process of acquiring this information is often a complex task, requiring a significant investment in time, money and resources. 

Contour’s partnership with GLEIF and the adoption of the LEI will enable users of its platform to overcome this issue by standardising information involved in business transactions. The integration of the LEI into Contour’s digital network will allow trading parties to benefit from improved data integrity and reliability, creating a more transparent trading environment. 

 Future development 

Contour intend to continue to deepen its use of LEI in the coming months, working with its partners on new APIs, building it into its KYC processes and collaborating on the GLEIF-led Verifiable LEI (vLEI) initiative.