Why universal identifiers are key to creating an inclusive global trade ecosystem
Enno-Burghard Weitzel, Senior Vice-President of Strategy, Digitisation, and Business Development at Surecomp, explains how using LEI for digital identity verification in trade finance transactions improves operational efficiency for customers while promoting inclusive trade growth.
In early 2022, GLEIF partnered with Surecomp to embed the Global LEI Index into its cloud-based trade finance solution. GLEIF then spoke to Enno-Burghard Weitzel, SVP of Strategy and Business Development at Surecomp, to learn how using LEI for digital identity verification promotes trusted, efficient, and inclusive trade networks.
Why are verifiable identities so important in the trade finance process?
The LEI is of enormous importance to all trade participants, especially as the number of fraudulent transactions has increased since the start of the pandemic. Providing our clients with real-time access to unique legal entity identification data is critical for efficient, trust-based trade finance relationships.
The LEI Index makes the verification process more efficient and saves valuable time by eliminating the need to manually enter each entity’s data, as entering an LEI means that the remaining data fields are automatically populated. This facilitates the implementation of Know Your Customer (KYC), anti-fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions. It also prevents human error, both typing errors and accidental mix-ups of identity types.
How will Surecomp use the LEI data and what is the long-term goal of the partnership?
LEI data is integrated into our RIVO platform, which is a central administration solution for trade finance transactions. The integration of LEI data enables our clients to quickly verify the identity of trading participants and provides more trust and transparency in trade transactions.
What were the main drivers behind Surecomp’s decision to use the Global LEI Index?
The integration of LEI data into the RIVO platform provides an opportunity to streamline identity verification processes and standardize business identification for better KYC, fraud, and AML compliance.
What new benefits does this partnership bring to Surecomp’s customers?
By providing our clients with easier access to LEI data, we increase transparency, trust, and efficiency throughout the trade finance process. As LEI data facilitates (KYC) compliance and provides clients with immediate assurance and authentication that their counterparties’ legitimacy is verified and trustworthy, our clients benefit from improved risk mitigation, increased transparency, and more efficient and faster identity verification for their transactions.
How will Surecomp’s business benefit from this integration into the Global LEI Index?
We are in the process of building an ecosystem of several complementary solutions that go hand in hand with our RIVO platform. These solutions will be seamlessly integrated so that our customers can use them without friction. The inclusion of LEI data will allow us to make this ecosystem frictionless, as our clients will be able to enter an LEI once and then simultaneously have access to many different solutions in the world of trade finance, such as ESG, compliance, AML, and fraud prevention.
What impact could ID initiatives like the LEI have on future global trade networks?
Global trade networks can benefit significantly from ID verification and management initiatives. They enable financiers and corporates to reduce the time spent on KYC checks as part of the transaction lifecycle, further improving operational efficiency and promoting trade growth. These initiatives also help close the trade finance gap by making it easier for banks to screen small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients.
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