Financial data outfit Markit and BPO firm Genpact have launched a service designed to help firms manage client onboarding and other know-your-customer requirements.
Markit І Genpact KYC promises to collect, enrich and centrally administer legal entity data and documents that banks require from their clients in order to conduct business and comply with KYC and anti-money laundering regulations, including Dodd-Frank, Emir, Fatca and Mifid.
Bank customers such as asset managers, hedge funds and corporates that sign up for the service can upload their KYC data and documents to the self-service portalfor free and then give permission to sell-side firms to access it.
The partners worked with Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Morgan Stanley to develop the standards for the service, which they say will streamline KYC efforts and save users money.
It will go live in July, initially covering onboarding of clients subject to UK and US regulations.
Michele Trogni, global head, managed services, Markit, says: "Our KYC offering shows how we can use our expertise in innovative ways to help customers who are increasingly turning to centralised solutions in order to transform their operations."
Markit's move comes in the wake of similar initiatives from Thomson Reuters, Swift and a host of other start-ups who are competing to recruit financial firms and launch their own KYC and compliance reporting data utilities.