SWIFT has announced that more than 1,125 financial institutions have signed up for its Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry, a centralised repository that maintains a standardised set of information about financial institutions required for KYC compliance.

Launched in December 2014, The KYC Registry provides KYC information for correspondent banks as well as fund distributors and custodians. The Registry is operated by SWIFT and was developed in collaboration with major global banks around the world.

Banks contribute an agreed ‘baseline' set of data and documentation for validation by SWIFT, which the contributors can then share with their counterparties. Each bank retains ownership of its own information, as well as control over which other institutions can view it. Banks are not charged for data contribution or for using the Registry to share their KYC information with other banks. To maximise the Registry's benefits, data consumption is free in 2015 for banks that contribute their own KYC information to the Registry and promote it to their correspondents.

KYC Registry adoption has shown strong momentum, with banks in 152 countries now on board. This includes over 575 institutions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; over 180 in the Americas; and nearly 375 in the Asia Pacific region.

Luc Meurant, Head of Compliance Services, SWIFT, says: "The KYC Registry is helping the industry to increase efficiency and mitigate cost and risk associated with Know Your Customer compliance. The rapid adoption by the financial community is a clear indication of the industry's collaborative support for a standardised approach to address KYC compliance challenges worldwide. We look forward to working with our community to further expand the Registry and the benefits for its users."