SWIFT KYC Registry now has users in 109 countries, facilitating compliance with a growing number of correspondent relationships worldwide. Launched in December 2014, the KYC Registry provides a simple, secure way to exchange a standardised set of information for correspondent banking Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, increasing efficiency and reducing risk. 

Baseline data sharing and control

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. Banks are not charged for data contribution or for using the Registry to share their KYC information with other banks. To maximise the Registry's benefits, SWIFT has made data consumption free in 2015 for banks that contribute their own KYC information to the Registry and promote it to their correspondents.

Effective solution

Russell Saunders, Managing Director Global Payments at Lloyds Banking Group, Chair of SWIFT UK (the UK SWIFT National Member Group (NMG)) and a long-standing member of the UK Payments Council, says: “Financial crime compliance is a major operational undertaking for all financial institutions. Part of SWIFT UK’s role is to promote understanding of challenges like this and their impact on UK institutions, and to try to identify the most efficient solutions for the industry. Increasing adoption in the UK and globally reflects the fact that SWIFT’s KYC Registry is an effective solution to this shared challenge.”