A number of banks in the Nordic region are looking to create a common Know Your Customer (KYC) joint venture.
DNB Bank ASA, Danske Bank A/S, Nordea Bank AB, Svenska Handelsbanken AB and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB have decided to explore the venture.
The possible establishment of a Nordic Know Your Customer (KYC) infrastructure would, in initial phase, service large and midsize Nordic corporates.
The banking community is continuously facing more regulations and requirements related to KYC processes. This means that compliance with requirements for processing customer data has become a critical component in fighting financial crime.
Bank customers are, however, struggling with time-consuming KYC information requirements, while inefficient KYC processes are also having a negative impact on banks.
The five banks said they intend to set up a joint venture, dubbed Nordic KYC Utility, with a singular focus on developing an ‘efficient, common, secure and cost-effective Nordic KYC infrastructure’. It will be owned and controlled by the founding banks, however, its services will be offered to third parties.
Stefan Stignäs, head of corporate market within corporate and private customers, SEB, “I see great value in simplifying this process and making it common for all banks. We can compare for example with mobile bank-id which is also infrastructure that is common for all banks.
“By establishing a common service, we can enhance the quality and the efficiency in the know-your-customer process and set distinct and uniform standards that correspond to demands from customers, banks and society.”
According to data by RegTech Analyst, companies that address AML and KYC are dominating the RegTech universe, which is understandable given the increasingly complex requirements placed and heavy fines imposed for inadequate compliance by regulatory authorities.
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