The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) have shown how Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) and verified organisational data can improve cross-border open finance networks.
Linking open finance systems
Run by the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, Project Aperta has developed and tested a prototype for cross-border open finance interconnectivity.
The project creates a “network of networks” that links existing domestic systems in the UK, UAE, Brazil, Hong Kong, and India. It does so through a neutral interoperability layer.
When an organisation identifies itself using an LEI, the prototype helps streamline Know Your Business (KYB) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks.
This can reduce onboarding times and compliance burdens for businesses operating across borders.
This process makes financial services more accessible for SMEs while reducing compliance costs and onboarding times.
Addressing cross-border pain points
Domestic open finance frameworks often resist interconnectivity because they adhere to different technical standards, data formats, and trust frameworks.
This friction forces international businesses to face repeated manual checks and duplicated document submissions, limiting their access to overseas accounts, credit, and trade finance.
Project Aperta aims to ease these data flows across borders to enable more integrated banking services.
By combining open finance data, payments frameworks, and the Global LEI System, Project Aperta addresses two core pain points highlighted in the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments.
This improves cross-border payment efficiency.
The model could also support emerging digital asset ecosystems. It enables secure data exchange between financial institutions, digital asset platforms, and regulators.
Industry testing and collaboration
“Any web of domestic networks that seeks to make legal entity data portable across borders needs a globally standardised system of verified organisational identity,”
said Alexandre Kech, CEO of GLEIF.
“The Global LEI System serves this purpose precisely: it helps infrastructure, businesses, and entities make verified business data as widely available as possible, globally.”
The prototype was tested alongside private-sector commercial banks and fintech companies.
The project involved collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Central Bank of Brazil, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK.
Additional participants included GLEIF, the International Chamber of Commerce Digital Standards Initiative, and the Hong Kong University Standard Chartered Foundation Fintech Academy.
The prototype was tested alongside private-sector commercial banks and fintech companies.
Project Aperta builds on broader industry momentum to include the LEI in cross-border payment messages.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by freepik via Magnific
