JOHANNESBURG/ NEW YORK/ LONDON – Thomson Reuters today announced the launch of its Org ID managed service solution for Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence in South Africa, together with design partner banks Barclays Africa, Rand Merchant Bank (a division of FirstRand Bank) and Standard Bank of South Africa, who have all committed to use the Org ID service to perform KYC on their populations of corporate and institutional banking clients.

Leveraging off the established Thomson Reuters Org ID global solution that now serves 15 major financial institutions and asset management firms around the world, having published over 125,000 complete KYC profiles since launching in 2014, Thomson Reuters worked closely with the design partner banks to blueprint the adaptation of the service to encompass a broad range of specific requirements in South Africa.  As part of its commitment to the service in Africa, Thomson Reuters has built out operational hubs in Johannesburg and Cape Town, augmenting existing centres in Poland, Malaysia and the UK, intelligently collocating with the existing WorldCheck operational centre in Cape Town that houses over 150 staff.

The service is expected to gain significant traction from both local and international banks operating in South Africa as the collective client base of the design partner banks is migrated onto the service throughout 2016 and 2017. 

Steve Pulley, global managing director, Risk Managed Services, Thomson Reuters, said: “We are delighted to help financial institutions streamline the KYC process for clients operating in South Africa, building and maintaining KYC records to a high standard that meets the demands of local and global regulators.” Pulley added: “Together with our design partners, we have developed a solution in South Africa extensible across the continent that will enable financial institutions and their clients to get down to business far more quickly and efficiently whilst also significantly reducing the cost burden of complying with KYC requirements in these markets. This is another example of our commitment to empowering Africa through strong local presence and domain expertise.”

“Client experience is paramount,” said Phakamani Hadebe, South Africa Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Africa Corporate and Investment Bank. “We are proud to have co-championed the formation of a KYC utility to reduce the administrative burden on our clients.”  

James Formby, Chief Executive Officer of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) commented: “We recognise how difficult it can be for our clients to keep up-to-date with the complex and ever-increasing KYC regulations, which ultimately makes complying with these regulations a daunting task. We believe that the Thomson Reuters Org ID solution will significantly reduce the time and costs associated with supplying this information by eliminating duplication when loading information for a number of different financial institutions, while still meeting the demands of regulators around the world.  The easy-to-use portal has stringent security features which will give our clients full control and visibility over who can access and view their documents.”

“In an increasingly complex banking world from a regulatory and compliance point of view, ensuring the basic fundamentals are in place remains essential for financial services,” said Kenny Fihla, Head of Client Coverage at Standard Bank. “With our focus of putting our client at the heart of what we do, partnering with Thomson Reuters and our industry counterparts, the partnership across banks allows for a simplified KYC process, both addressing regulatory requirements, and ensuring a common industry standard.”

Thomson Reuters Org ID is earning increased recognition from the financial services industry. Peers voting for the 2015 FTF News Technology Innovation Awards selected Org ID to receive two FTF Excellence Awards – in the categories of ‘Best Operational Risk Management Solution’ and ‘Best AML/ Anti-Fraud Solution’. Also, Org ID received the Data Management Review Award 2015 for “Best KYC & Client On-Boarding Solution” – the second straight year the platform has earned this accolade from A-Team Group, senior managers at financial institutions and readers of Data Management Review (http://bit.ly/29CfztK).

Thomson Reuters

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Andrea Hattingh
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