JFSC to help develop 'know your customer' utility

Friday 07 August 2020

The Jersey Financial Services Commission says it is eager to work with industry on developing a shared ‘know your customer’ (KYC) utility to support the financial services industry.

The purpose of a KYC utility would be to provide a shared tool for verifying customers’ identity, which the aim of bringing about reduced costs when taking on new clients, whilst introducing an enhanced degree of assurance for the JFSC as to the quality of client processes.

The JFSC set up a working group in 2019 with representatives of Jersey’s financial services sector, in order to understand appetite for a utility of this kind and to provide a platform to understand any challenges for implementation.

The JFSC also had further discussions with individual firms, trade associations and technology providers.

Pictured: JFSC Director General Martin Moloney.

The working group found out there was scope for a shared KYC utility, which it said would underpin local efforts against financial crime, while helping the sector to control costs.

They also concluded it would need a strong financial, governance and resource commitment from a core group in the finance sector.

“I have to express my gratitude to a broad range of Industry representatives who gave their time and ideas to contribute to this work," JFSC Director General Martin Moloney, said.

"We are very enthusiastic about working with Industry to help them develop any potential utility, while remaining – as you would expect – committed to high standards of compliance outcomes to support Jersey’s strong international reputation.

"Jersey is well-placed to respond quickly to innovation in financial services and we look forward to watching this sector evolve.”