Swiss statistical office and global business identification organization establish direct data connection
The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), a non-profit organization based in Switzerland, has partnered with the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) to significantly boost the transparency and global identifiability of Swiss businesses. This collaboration embeds a direct URL link in the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) records of Swiss businesses to the verified official registration data and associated documentation on the Swiss UID registry website.
Created more than a decade ago by the Financial Stability Board, GLEIF currently employs around 60 staff. The LEI, a 20-character alpha-numeric code, enables the unique identification of legal entities undertaking financial transactions. This integration aims to improve global visibility and discoverability of Swiss businesses for international partners, customers, and regulators, as the LEI records now provide direct access to verified Swiss business registration data.
The collaboration between GLEIF and the FSO also simplifies and enhances due diligence processes like Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Supplier (KYS), due to streamlined access to authoritative and up-to-date company identity data from trusted official sources. This move reinforces the LEI’s role as a global interoperable digital identity system, supporting cross-border transparency, regulatory compliance, and trusted trading relationships in global markets.
The partnership also facilitates digital trust and efficiency in international business operations, particularly benefiting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by enhancing their international profile and credibility through verified identities. This initiative exemplifies how integrating national official business registry data with the global LEI system fosters greater transparency, trust, and interoperability in international business.
GLEIF is committed to leveraging the LEI as a central data connector to further enhance global corporate transparency and advance the fight against economic crime. The situation in the UK is similar, with just four percent of the five million-plus limited companies registered having an active LEI. GLEIF is looking to engage further business registries around the world to continue this trend.
Notably, this collaboration comes just over six months after GLEIF announced a similar arrangement with the UK's business registry, Companies House. The Bank of England has mandated the use of LEIs for payments between financial institutions from 1 May 2025 in the UK. GLEIF, along with the US-headquartered Open Ownership, has launched the Global Open Data Integration Network (GODIN) to foster open data practices and collaboration among organizations that publish open data or set open data standards.
In Switzerland, only a minority of 1.2 million-plus entities with an active UID currently operate with an active LEI. A URL link to the Swiss UID register will now be embedded into all entities on GLEIF’s webpage that have a Swiss UID number, enabling one-click access through the GLEIF site to each entity's verified registration data. The LEI is based on the ISO 17442 standard developed by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO), which is also headquartered in Switzerland.
GLEIF is overseen by a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprising public authority representatives from across the globe. This partnership underscores Switzerland's commitment to fostering a transparent and trustworthy business environment on a global scale.
- The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) collaboration has positioned the LEI as a tool that bridges finance, business, and technology, improving international visibility and due diligence processes for Swiss businesses.
- In line with their commitment to enhancing global corporate transparency, GLEIF has partnered with various national business registries, such as the Swiss FSO and the UK's Companies House, employing technology to link legal entities in the finance sector with authoritative business information.
