Refinitiv, a multinational financial markets data and infrastructure service provider, will reportedly be providing a fully-automated know-your-customer (KYC) application to Malta-based digital asset exchange, Binance.
Propietary Tools For Performing KYC & “Third-Party Risk Due Diligence”
Refinitiv’s official blog post noted: “Effective KYC tools are becoming a critical need for the cryptocurrency industry with the increasing demand for regulatory oversight. The solution will enable Binance to integrate the advanced functionalities of World-Check into their internal workflow, allowing them to streamline the screening process for onboarding, KYC and third-party risk due diligence.”
The post further explains that the company’s KYC-as-a-Service provides “client identity, verification, screening and monitoring” – in order to facilitate faster “client on-boarding, remediation and refresh.” Moreover, Refinitiv’s collaborative platform “integrates trusted legal entity information” from a large and diverse set of “authoritative sources.”
The sources are located in over 200 different countries and are available in 60 languages. Notably, Refinitiv’s customer verification services also adhere to a “global policy” that has been “stress tested” by over 100 regulatory authorities throughout the world and major financial institutions.
Growing “Compliance Competency” With “Advanced Transaction Monitoring Tools”
Commenting on the exchange’s decision to use Refinitiv’s KYC platform, Wei Zhou, the chief financial officer at Binance, said:
As we continue to grow our business globally, we will also continue to grow our compliance competency by partnering with well-recognized market leaders for KYC solutions. Following existing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards in the fiat world and incorporating advanced third-party transaction monitoring tools, as well as our own proprietary tools, will help us build trust with regulators and financial institutions.
Emphasizing the importance of regulatory compliance in order to ensure consumer protection, Nadim Najjar, the managing director of Refinitiv’s Middle East & Africa operations, noted:
We are proud to collaborate with Binance and lead on KYC solutions in the cryptocurrency world. Increasing regulations on the cryptocurrency market have led exchanges to establish KYC programs in order to comply with AML regulations. In the past few years, regulators have been working to ensure that anyone moving cryptocurrency into fiat currency is subject to the same KYC requirements as individuals dealing with a conventional bank.
Notably, Refinitiv previously operated as the Financial & Risk business division of Canadian multinational mass media and information firm, Thomson Reuters.
Blockchain-Based KYC/AML Checks?
As CryptoGlobe reported in October, Block.one’s Group President and chief operating officer, Rob Jesudason, had recommended using blockchain technology to manage KYC/AML processes.
Jesudason, a former senior executive at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, had pointed out that lawyers working at Denmark’s Danske Bank found that between 2007 and 2015, more than €200 billion euros were laundered through an Estonia-based bank.
According to Jerudason, this incident and many others prove that traditional methods of conducting KYC/AML checks are ineffective, and a blockchain-based system might work better in keeping track of the individuals involved in financial transactions
