Encompass has acquired CoorpID and Blacksmith KYC from ING to develop a market-leading platform that solves the critical challenge of identification and verification of corporate and institutional clients. The deal will see Encompass acquire 100% of CoorpID and Blacksmith, creating a platform that will enhance the KYC process across the industry. ING will be a stakeholder and development partner to Encompass.

The acquisitions mark a major milestone for Encompass achieving a core part of its mission since inception in 2011. CDI, which is emerging as a critical sector in the KYC ecosystem, will complement Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) technology to enhance the overall customer journey. ING sees Encompass as a strategic partner and has committed to using the platform in the years ahead.

Acquisition allows Encompas’ efforts to solve key issues for customers

CoorpID was founded in 2018 by ING Labs in response to complex KYC challenges ING and the wider market faced. CoorpID allows global banks to automate outreach and gather private KYC data directly from corporate banking customers, providing a repository that allows the corporation to manage all their banking relationships. For large multinationals, the platform makes it easy to store and structure KYC company documents and enables sharing with banks and business partners.

CoorpID enables Encompass to build a complete KYC profile, combining authoritative public information with private information directly from customers. This presents financial institutions with a full Corporate Digital Identity (CDI) providing a unified source of truth and unrivalled visibility into risk.

It enhances Encompass’ efforts to solve the key issue of customer outreach for financial institutions. Through this complete customer profile, the need for unnecessary outreach is eliminated. The result is a faster, slicker experience without compromising on robust compliance.

Blacksmith was established in 2017, as part of ING Labs Singapore, with the aim to enhance KYC processes for the financial industry. Blacksmith allows banks like ING to configure their Customer Due Diligence (CDD) requirements within a Digital Policy Manager. This ensures that the relevant data and evidence is gathered and streamlines the collection process. Blacksmith has demonstrated up to 50% efficiency savings and is broadly used across the entire ING Financial Institutions client base, in addition to supporting wider external customers.