More than 2,000 financial institutions have signed up for The Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry, SWIFT’s centralised repository which maintains a standardised set of information about financial institutions required for KYC compliance.

The Registry provides a secure, cost-effective KYC solution that enables banks to maintain and grow their correspondent network. It is used by institutions in more than 200 countries and territories, with nearly 1,150 banks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; 325 in the Americas, and over 550 in the Asia Pacific region.

Bart Claeys, Head of KYC Compliance Services, SWIFT, says: “The KYC Registry is helping financial institutions increase efficiency and mitigate cost and risk related to Know Your Customer compliance. Its rapid adoption demonstrates the important role of standardised, community-driven solutions in addressing compliance challenges. SWIFT will continue to expand its offering of utility solutions to meet the industry’s evolving KYC needs.”

Launched in December 2014 and operated by SWIFT, The KYC Registry provides KYC information for correspondent banks as well as fund distributors and custodians. Banks contribute an agreed ‘baseline’ set of data and documents 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 users.

Each enrolled institution can also order its SWIFT Traffic Profile as an additional service and share this set of reports with its counterparties at its discretion. The SWIFT Traffic Profile helps banks understand potential risks in their correspondent networks by providing a single, aggregated view of their transaction activity with higher-risk jurisdictions. It helps banks active in such jurisdictions protect their connection to the global financial system by enabling them to demonstrate their transparency and compliance.

SWIFT will expand its KYC compliance portfolio with additional services during the course of 2016.

For more information about The KYC Registry, visit www.betterkyc.com.