Skip to main content
  • English
    Discover SWIFT
  • Español
    Descubra nuestros contenidos en español
  • Français
    Découvrez notre contenu disponible en français
  • 中文
    了解我们提供的中文内容
  • 日本語
    日本で入手可能なコンテンツをお探しください
Swift aligns KYC Registry with updated Wolfsberg Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) for Correspondent Banks

Swift aligns KYC Registry with updated Wolfsberg Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) for Correspondent Banks

Compliance,
16 October 2017 | 5 min read

Swift’s adoption of ‘Wolfsberg DDQ’ seeks to drive global standardisation in correspondent banking due diligence

Toronto, 16 October 2017 – Swift is aligning its Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry with the new Wolfsberg Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) for Correspondent Banks. First issued in 2004, the Wolfsberg DDQ has been updated in response to an increase in regulatory expectations and a call for action from the Financial Stability Board Correspondent Banking Coordination Group (FSB CBCG) and the Committee on Payments & Market Infrastructures (CPMI). KYC Registry members can now answer every Wolfsberg DDQ question directly on the KYC Registry platform, increasing transparency and streamlining due diligence processes.

The KYC Registry is a global KYC utility used by more than 4,200 correspondent banks and funds players in over 200 countries and territories, representing 75 percent of Swift message traffic. More than 50 central banks and monetary authorities are also Registry members. KYC Registry membership was recently expanded to include all supervised financial institutions, even if they are not connected to Swift, facilitating even wider efficiency and effectiveness.

Registry members upload their KYC data and documents for validation by Swift, and exchange this information with their counterparties for use in onboarding and ongoing correspondent banking Customer Due Diligence (CDD).

Aligning the Registry with the Wolfsberg DDQ ensures coverage of up to 90 percent of the information correspondent banks typically require for KYC compliance, delivering major time and cost savings.

“Banks are expected to ensure that due diligence on their correspondents is thorough, timely and accurate,” said Bart Claeys, Head of KYC Compliance Services at Swift. “Aligning The KYC Registry’s content with the Wolfsberg DDQ will enable Registry users to focus their energies on risk assessment and analysis, rather than devoting valuable resources to repetitive data collection.”

Banks are expected to ensure that due diligence on their correspondents is thorough, timely and accurate. Aligning The KYC Registry’s content with the Wolfsberg DDQ will enable Registry users to focus their energies on risk assessment and analysis, rather than devoting valuable resources to repetitive data collection.

Bart Claeys, Head of KYC Compliance Services, Swift

The Wolfsberg Group is an association of thirteen global banks which aims to develop frameworks and guidance for the management of financial crime risks, particularly with respect to KYC, AML and Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) policies. The Wolfsberg Group is a member of Swift’s Financial Crime Compliance Advisory Group, and there is a long track record of close collaboration between Swift and Wolfsberg to address a broad range of compliance challenges facing the correspondent banking community and beyond.

Luc Meurant, Head of Financial Crime Compliance Services, Swift, said: “Swift’s adoption of the Wolfsberg DDQ demonstrates our determination to foster transparency and efficiency in correspondent banking. We will continue to work with the Wolfsberg Group, and the industry as a whole, to address compliance challenges by leveraging Swift’s strengths in standardisation and industry collaboration, as well as our compliance utility model.”

Swift’s adoption of the Wolfsberg DDQ demonstrates our determination to foster transparency and efficiency in correspondent banking. We will continue to work with the Wolfsberg Group, and the industry as a whole, to address compliance challenges by leveraging Swift’s strengths in standardisation and industry collaboration, as well as our compliance utility model.

Luc Meurant, Head of Financial Crime Compliance Services, Swift

For more information about The KYC Registry, visit www.swift.com/kycregistry.

About Swift
Swift is a global member owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and regulatory compliance.

Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. While Swift does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable our global community of users to communicate securely, exchanging standardised financial messages in a reliable way, thereby supporting global and local financial flows, as well as trade and commerce all around the world.

As their trusted provider, we relentlessly pursue operational excellence; we support our community in addressing cyber threats; and we continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Our products and services support our community’s access and integration, business intelligence, reference data and financial crime compliance needs. Swift also brings the financial community together – at global, regional and local levels – to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest or concern.

Headquartered in Belgium, Swift’s international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. Swift’s global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.

About Wolfsberg
The Wolfsberg Group is an association of thirteen global banks which aims to develop frameworks and guidance for the management of financial crime risks, particularly with respect to Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing policies. Materials published by the Wolfsberg Group are designed to provide financial institutions (FIs) with an industry perspective on effective financial crime risk management. For more information visit www.wolfsberg-principles.com.

For more information, visit www.swift.com or follow us on Twitter: @swiftcommunity and LinkedIn: Swift.

Loading...