There is now a race between the two main providers of KYC support services - kyc.com and Thomson Reuters Org ID KYC - to offer support in all jurisdictions world-wide and to provide compliance with both international and local control standards. Thomson Reuters Org ID KYC, the global Know Your Customer end-to-end client identity managed service, has just announced their adoption of the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) standards and controls for outsource service providers (OSPAR) for financial institutions regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Compliance with both global and local standards

“Our customers today demand compliance to global standards as well as meeting the needs of their local regulators,” said Dominic Mac, global head of Business Development, Risk Managed Services, Thomson Reuters. “We are the first and only global KYC managed services provider to have produced an International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 Type II controls report, which includes a reasonable assurance report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the basis of which has been used to align our operational capabilities to the equally rigorous requirements of the ABS, in preparation for the soon-to-be-announced MAS Outsourcing Notice.”

Auditing the KYC service

To give corporates confidence in their service, Org ID is audited by PwC against the global ISAE 3000 standard and against OSPAR.  In its most recent revised format, the ISAE international standard addresses Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information and provides customers with an independent review in relation to the design and operating effectiveness of a service provider’s internal controls and compliance. Developed by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, ISAE 3000 (Revised) is a widely recognized standards which used by accounting firms to independently assess a company’s report as to its control environment.

Other industry accreditations for Org ID include: ISO / IEC 27001 on Information Security Management; ISO9001 on Quality Management; and SOC2 on security, availability and privacy for its data center operations.

Global Customer Due Diligence Service

Thomson Reuters Org ID, now in its third year of operation, is a global solution developed for banks, investment managers and corporations to simplify and streamline Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and the ongoing maintenance of KYC records – in line with ever-changing regulatory demands.  Org ID has processed well over 125,000 KYC entity profiles, all of them fully validated and screened, with continuous monitoring and dynamic refresh offered as part of the service’s end-to-end solution.

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CTMfile take: The emphasis in the kyc business is now on Customer Due Diligence  as well as ongoing maintenance of KYC records. A key diferentiator between the services will be their compliance with both global AND local standards/practices.