KYC Exchange Net AG, Switzerland, now offers a secure web-based communication platform for Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) purposes to the international banking community. Founded in June 2013, KYC Exchange Net AG started an international rigorous two-stage test phase in September and is now going live with the innovative platform which assists the Financial Industry to comply with Anti Money Laundering (AML) and KYC regulations. KYC Exchange Net’s platform increases efficiency and allows for the cost-effective exchange of KYC data between regulated financial institutions such as banks and their clients.

In the daily international financial business, banks are required to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations. This is a highly time and cost-intensive process which involves the collection, validation, analysis and constant updates of the clients’ data. KYC Exchange Net AG was founded with the objective to provide the Financial Services Industry with a secure communication platform to facilitate compliance with these regulations and allow for a cost-effective exchange of the required KYC data.

Together with IHAG Holding and its partner companies AdNovum AG and Evalueserve AG, KYC Exchange Net AG has formed a large scale, comprehensive partnership and is now offering the KYC platform as a global solution.

KYC Exchange Net AG entered an international intensive two-stage test phase last September. The first stage included banks in Western and Central Europe. Valuable feedback from the pilot banks was then used to fine-tune the platform, and the second test phase was carried out with a wider range of banks in Eastern Europe and Asia. The participating pilot banks included globally active investment and transaction banks, private banks as well as banks with regional focus, in particular with Eastern European and Middle Eastern links. The composition of the pilot bank group demonstrated that the platform is suitable for various types of institutions and clients on a global scale.

Participants in the test phase confirmed that they were able to realise significant efficiency gains due to faster collection and distribution of the KYC data and its consistency in data structure. Feedback indicates time savings of up to 90% in the front office where client data is being collected. Further savings of up to 50% are expected in the middle and back office as the KYC data which is verified and validated is more complete and accurate than traditionally collected data. Based on their experience in the test phase, some of the participating banks have already indicated their intention to sign up as regular users of the platform.

The KYC Exchange Net solution operates as an internet based platform and there are no cost related to any software or terminals. Banks will pay a fee for the exchange of KYC information through the platform.

The successful test phase has shown that the platform is suitable for all banks globally and will be available via www.kyc-exchange.net as of 22nd January 2014. KYC Exchange Net AG is already working to develop the offering further and is targeting to provide a similar solution to Corporates, Insurance Companies and Asset Management in one of the upcoming releases.