TransUnion Hong Kong is on the cusp of securing the right to run Hong Kong’s next big Fintech project despite the exposure last week of a gaping security flaw that allowed access to the personal data of the city’s leader.
TransUnion Hong Kong is competing with an IBM-led consortium to become the sole manager of a major new service for Hong Kong banks, according to sources familiar with the situation. The goal is to provide a centralised digital database of consumers’ personal and credit information to allow for the sharing of data across financial institutions to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of services.
The project is called Know Your Client Utility (KYCU) and aims to create a single source of customer data and documents across the industry while addressing newly tightened international standards for anti-money-laundering regulations. Know Your Client is known as the process of a business verifying the identity of its customers and assessing potential security risks.
The new KYCU platform would remove the need for a client to provide KYC documentation to every bank used. It could also improve risk management for banks and other financial institutions while lowering costs and processing time.
“TransUnion and the IBM-led alliance are the finalists in the bid,” a source familiar with the project said. “The Hong Kong Association of Banks is due to make a decision very soon on the winner.”
An association spokeswoman only said the organisation had been working closely with the industry to develop a KYCU platform and would issue updates on the plan in due course.
Source: SCMP
