Working with SWIFT and a number of banks, Barclays will help to build the service which seeks to support banks in meeting the needs of ever increasing KYC standards whilst at the same time achieving economies of scale.

The utility will provide a global platform of accurate information which SWIFT will host and manage, whilst member banks will have ownership of and responsibility for their own information.

Luc Meurant, Head of Banking Markets and Compliance Services at SWIFT commented: "We welcome Barclays' involvement in piloting the KYC Registry initiative. Banks face a number of challenges today around financial crime compliance and the development of such a centralised utility will help banks to stream-line current processes, cut KYC-related costs and mitigate compliance risks."

Matt Tuck, Co-Head of International and Head of Financial Institutions Group, Corporate Banking at Barclays said: "Collaboration within the banking industry is key to finding solutions that tackle compliance challenges and costly KYC-related regulations. This initiative fits naturally with Barclays' drive to improve the onboarding experience for clients and counterparties, and we're delighted to contribute to the shaping of an industry utility that will be able to drive efficiencies for all banks."