Compliance is a big, ugly problem aka huge market.

The big question remains:

“Is there any conceptual and/or technical game-changer?”

The best candidate that I can see is the data-sharing model. I already covered how Credit Benchmark is using this model for corporate credit markets.

So, it is no surprise to see Markit, which has profited from the data sharing model, apply the model to KYC.

Markit was not the first in this game. AFAIK, it was a Swiss company called KYC Exchange that I met when they launched nearly a year ago. They seem to be signing banks and making progress.

SWIFT is also in this game. It is a networks effects game and SWIFT is a membership based business where every member is a potential customer. Can they translate that into business by working at startup speed?

Network effects markets make great spectator sport, as the prize is big and only one can win.