In a digital economy, verifying the identity of businesses and organisations is critical. Enterprises, governments, and Trust Service Providers (TSPs) require robust mechanisms to establish trust, ensure compliance, and mitigate financial risks.
Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) have emerged as a global standard for business identification, offering transparency and accountability in financial and digital transactions.
A Legal Entity Identifier is a unique 20-character alphanumeric code assigned to businesses and organisations engaged in financial transactions. Governed by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), LEIs create a verifiable and globally recognised business identity, reducing fraud and enhancing operational efficiency.
Each LEI provides key reference information about a legal entity, including:
The LEI system ensures that businesses can be easily identified in digital and financial transactions, providing a standardised global approach to verifying legal entities. For the financial sector this is specifically important, where due diligence on counterparties is essential for compliance with international regulations.
Digital transactions rely on identity verification to prevent fraud and establish credibility. LEIs provide a globally recognised identifier that confirms a business’s legitimacy, reducing risks associated with fraudulent or non-compliant entities.
Including an LEI in digital signatures adds an extra layer of trust, ensuring that signatories are verifiable legal entities.
Governments and regulatory bodies worldwide mandate LEIs for various financial and contractual transactions. Enterprises dealing in international markets must comply with these regulations to avoid penalties and operational disruptions. LEIs simplify compliance with standards such as:
Financial institutions and enterprises operate in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. LEIs streamline compliance by offering a transparent, standardised way to identify corporate entities, making it easier to meet the requirements of multiple jurisdictions.
For multinational enterprises, managing multiple regulatory frameworks can be challenging. LEIs provide a standardised business identity, reducing verification delays and enabling smoother transactions across jurisdictions. The LEI system simplifies entity verification, making global trade and financial transactions more efficient and secure.
LEIs allow financial institutions and organisations to conduct more accurate due diligence by verifying a business’s ownership structure and background. This minimises the risk of fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes.
Fraudulent entities and shell companies often exploit gaps in business identity verification. LEIs help identify potential risks before transactions occur, strengthening risk management for financial institutions and TSPs.
LEIs provide a single source of truth for entity identification, eliminating the need to rely on fragmented databases and inconsistent company information. Enterprises, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies can use LEIs to automate business identity verification, reducing administrative burdens and improving data accuracy.
As a global leader in digital trust, Ascertia integrates LEIs into its suite of high-trust digital signing and identity verification solutions. Our technology helps enterprises, governments, and TSPs leverage LEIs for enhanced security and compliance in electronic transactions.
Ascertia’s SigningHub and ADSS Server support LEI integration, enabling organisations to include LEIs in digital signatures and electronic seals. This strengthens document authenticity and regulatory compliance, particularly in highly regulated industries such as finance, government, and legal services.
Ascertia ensures LEIs align with eIDAS requirements and other international regulations, simplifying compliance for businesses navigating evolving legal frameworks. Our solutions help organisations meet global digital trust standards, ensuring electronic transactions maintain the highest levels of security and legal validity.
Ascertia partners with Ubisecure, the largest global LEI issuer and identity management solutions provider, to streamline LEI acquisition and management for enterprises. Ubisecure, an accredited Local Operating Unit (LOU) under GLEIF, provides a seamless way for organisations to obtain and maintain their LEIs. This collaboration enhances business transparency and ensures compliance with global financial regulations.
"Our long-standing partnership with Ascertia has been instrumental in delivering on the ‘rapid’ in RapidLEI, ensuring seamless, highly accurate and efficient LEI issuance. Ascertia’s technology is integral to our mission of making the LEI the globally recognised organisation identifier, unlocking opportunities for streamlined and secure cross-border transactions in line with the Global LEI Foundation vision. We are excited to further collaborate with the Ascertia team as we develop solutions around the EUDI (EU Digital Identity) framework, driving innovation in digital identity and organisational trust."
Steve Waite, CMO Ubisecure RapidLEI
Legal Entity Identifiers are essential for building trust, ensuring compliance, and enhancing security in digital business. Enterprises, governments, and TSPs must adopt LEIs to stay ahead in an evolving regulatory landscape.
Ascertia’s industry-leading solutions empower organisations to integrate LEIs seamlessly into their digital trust strategies. By leveraging LEIs in digital signatures, identity verification, and regulatory compliance processes, businesses can enhance security, efficiency, and credibility.
To learn more about how Ascertia can help your organisation implement LEI-enabled digital trust solutions, contact us today.