Banks, buysides and corporates are all squaring up to the demands of KYC. One thing they all have in common is the tussle between gathering accurate information and trade execution. Whether it’s creating a new account or trading in a different jurisdiction, there’s a do not pass go unless compliance checks are complete. The challenge to getting there? Collecting, validating and authenticating data and documentation to prove eligibility.

Eligibility is a key part of being ready to transact. If you think about some of the punitive fines that have been levied for non-compliance, getting this right is something that is at the top of the agenda for all financial institutions.

Processes that lead to being compliant are complex, inefficient and fragmented. Data is often sitting within silos across different parts of an organisation. Regulatory, tax and margin changes also mean that banks are obliged to ask customers more questions they weren’t asking before. Buysides and corporates that face off to multiple banks are feeling the frustration too – numerous requests for similar information but there is no standardisation.

Traders are ready to execute but don’t have the green light without the stamp of approval. The solution to a very unstructured and bilateral process is centralisation – collect the data once, validate it and give the go ahead to be ready to transact.

Simplifying the exchange of information into one interaction is a huge benefit to speed time to market. Whether it’s refreshing data periodically for customers or opening a new account, it’s all about getting to market quickly to monetise the opportunity instead of missing out on it.