Standard Chartered Bank announces intent to join Thomson Reuters KYC managed service for Africa

JOHANNESBURG/ NEW YORK/ LONDON – Standard Chartered Bank today announced its intent to join Thomson Reuters Org ID regional managed service solution for Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence in South Africa.

Standard Chartered Bank has made the decision to join the African KYC managed service, which Thomson Reuters launched in July 2016 with design partner banks Barclays Africa, Rand Merchant Bank (a division of FirstRand Bank) and Standard Bank of South Africa. All four banks are committed to using the Org ID service to perform KYC and wider due diligence on their populations of corporate and institutional banking clients. Standard Chartered Bank is expected to go live towards the end of this quarter.

Earlier this year, Standard Chartered Bank completed an initial review and proof of concept with Thomson Reuters Org ID to review their customer on-boarding approach in South Africa.

As part of its commitment to the service in Africa, Thomson Reuters is working closely with the design partner banks, adapting the service to incorporate specific regulatory requirements in South Africa.

Sneha Shah, managing director, Africa, Thomson Reuters, said: “We are very pleased that Standard Chartered Bank is coming on board, leveraging our African KYC managed service for its regional clients. When we and the original three design partner banks launched the managed service for Africa last summer, we anticipated significant traction from both local and international banks operating in South Africa. That adoption is coming to pass, and we expect this trend to continue into 2018.” 

“For a global bank like ours with a growing regional presence, remaining competitive and making it easy for our clients to do business with us requires a simplified and innovative approach to client on-boarding and data management. Industry collaboration through managed service solution is an opportunity for banks to address operational challenges and improve client experience,” said Stephen Priestley, regional head of Global Banking – Africa, Middle East and Pakistan, Standard Chartered Bank. “Our local and global teams conducted rigorous operational and compliance due diligence of the African KYC managed service, and the Proof-of-Concept satisfied our requirements. We are pleased to be joining the service with three other well-known financial institutions in Africa.”

Thomson Reuters has built out operational hubs in Johannesburg and Cape Town, augmenting existing centres in Poland, Malaysia and the UK, intelligently co-locating with an existing World-Check operational centre in Cape Town, which houses over 150 staff.

Since its 2014 launch, Thomson Reuters Org ID KYC solution now serves 26 major financial institutions and asset management firms, manages over 350,000 KYC records and publishes more than 1.25 million continuously refreshed legal entity profiles in over 140 countries, helping customers accelerate their client on-boarding, comply with regulation, reduce costs and improve client experience.

Thomson Reuters Org ID has earned much recognition from the financial services industry. Last quarter, Org ID won a 2017 FStech Award for “Risk Management Software of the Year.” At the FTF News 2017 Technology Innovation Awards, Org ID was nominated for “Best Client Services Solution” by peers who previously selected Org ID to receive two FTF Excellence Awards -- in the categories of ‘Best Operational Risk Management Solution’ and ‘Best AML/ Anti-Fraud Solution.’ Org ID also received in 2015 and 2014 the Data Management Review Award for “Best KYC & Client On-Boarding Solution” – determined by A-Team Group, senior managers at financial institutions and readers of the publication.

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of news and information for professional markets. Our customers rely on us to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges (symbol: TRI). For more information, visit www.thomsonreuters.com.

CONTACTS

Andrea Hattingh
Head of Communication and Public Relations
Africa – Thomson Reuters
Tel: +27 63 686 8046
Email: andrea.hattingh@tr.com

Mark D. Harrop
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