Dominican Republic Banks Adopt Swift Central KYC Utility to Boost Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Standards

The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic has announced that banks in the country will adopt the Swift central Know Your Customer (KYC) utility as a whole community, aiming to strengthen their due diligence programs and meet regulatory requirements.

Enhancing Compliance and Reducing Risk

According to Fabiola Herrera, Director of Payments and Systems at the Central Bank, this move will enable banks to raise their levels of compliance with applicable anti-money laundering standards and reduce the risk of financial crimes.

Swift Central KYC Utility

The Swift central KYC utility is a platform that provides a standardized set of information for correspondent banking KYC compliance, increasing efficiency and reducing risk. Launched in December 2014, the Registry has already attracted entities from across 109 countries, facilitating compliance with a growing number of correspondent relationships worldwide.

How it Works

Banks that participate in the registry contribute an agreed-upon “baseline” set of data and documentation for validation by Swift, which can then be shared with their counterparties. Each bank retains ownership of its own information, as well as control over which other institutions can view it. The service is free for banks to use, with no charges for data contribution or sharing.

Swift’s Commitment to Compliance

Swift’s Head of Banking Markets and Compliance Services, Luc Meurant, hailed the initiative as a key part of the company’s commitment to helping its community comply with financial crime compliance regulations. “We are very pleased with the level of participation in the Registry, both from large global and regional banks and, as illustrated by this initiative in the Dominican Republic, by local communities,” he said.

Regional Support

Swift’s Regional Manager for Latin America, Jairo Namur, added that the company is committed to helping the Dominican Republic community work together to meet increasing financial crime compliance requirements. “In a landscape where collaborative approaches are gaining momentum, Swift is pleased to help the Dominican Republic community work together to meet the increasing financial crime compliance requirements.”