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Our modern world of technology, data and increasingly tightened regulatory requirements is coming to the point where it is barely manageable. In our earlier RegTech blog we mentioned that more regulation means recording and storing more data, but also reporting more data. The volumes of client-related and regulation-related data are ever increasing and are consuming more and more resources by the day.
While software providers like TrustQuay can certainly ease the burden by providing efficient and effective software solutions, there is still one big step which is just as – if not more – resource consuming than the actual collating, maintenance and storing of required client data.
And that is regulatory filings.
Especially for service providers with large numbers of entities they manage, it can be a big task to collate all the required information for annual corporate filings, tax reporting, AML related reporting, economic substance, beneficial ownership filings etc.
As long as the only way to submit the filings is via online portals, emails, PDF or CSV uploads etc, that will still take a significant effort to accomplish.
So how do we overcome this hurdle?
Application Programming Interface to the rescue
Application Programming Interface technology – or API – is a component of the new RegTech trend but has been around for a while and more or less runs our lives while hidden backstage.
The API technology enables sending data from one device to an internet service, where the service can then do ‘its thing’, and then sends the data back to our devices. We can do all sorts of everyday administrative things on our phones thanks to that – argue on social media platforms, pay our bills, order takeaways or check our bank account status.
So why are we not doing regulatory submissions this way?
A simple answer is – it needs two to tango. Regulators across the world need to adopt and enable this technology so we, at TrustQuay, can enable that solution for our customers.
It is very encouraging to see the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), alongside others like the Monetary Authority of Singapore, are adopting APIs for their routine interactions. JFSC have started the transition by adopting this technology for some of their submissions to the Registry.
As part of their 2020 Registry Programme, JFSC are looking to enable API technology so the industry participants can access and amend company data using APIs, as well as submit the new annual confirmation statement using APIs.
This will mean that our users can access and maintain the data held by the Registry directly from TrustQuay software, rather than using the online portal separately.
World of opportunities
Having a direct access to the Registry via the TrustQuay software has the potential to streamline a lot of business processes and remove a lot of manual intervention that is currently required for data maintenance and regulatory reporting.
We at TrustQuay are very much looking forward to working with Jersey FSC to enable API technology in our software for our customers. As more regulators around the world embark on the same API journey, we will certainly look to engage, share our experience and make the API service available for our customers in as many jurisdictions as possible.