LEI Worldwide, a provider of LEI solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with The Open Working Group (OWG), a collective initiative focused on redefining global trade finance.
The partnership aims to streamline KYC and KYB processes across international trade networks.
The collaboration supports OWG’s mission to address a $2.5tn global trade finance gap by modernising how trade transactions are conducted. By leveraging LEI Worldwide’s digital identity infrastructure, the two organisations intend to improve efficiency, reduce risks, and accelerate onboarding across the trade ecosystem.
LEI Worldwide specialises in issuing and managing Legal Entity Identifiers and recently began offering verifiable LEIs (vLEIs). These digital credentials are used to verify the identity of legal entities and their representatives in regulatory and financial transactions. The company’s mission is to bring global transparency and compliance to business identity verification.
The Open Working Group is an industry-led initiative that seeks to make global trade more accessible, efficient, and sustainable. Led by Andrea Frosinini and Venu Borra, OWG brings together regulators, financial institutions, insurers, technologists, and civil society actors to create a frictionless and standardised global trade and supply chain system. The group advocates for what it calls “Cognitive Fluidity”, a concept of systems and stakeholders dynamically adapting to enable smarter and faster decisions across complex ecosystems.
As part of the agreement, Darragh Hayes, founder and CEO of LEI Worldwide, has joined OWG’s advisory board. LEI Worldwide will contribute to OWG’s open ecosystem by advancing the use of LEI and vLEI standards to tackle bottlenecks in KYC/KYB processes, particularly those caused by fragmented national identity systems.
The integration of LEI technology is expected to support the interoperability and regulatory compliance of trade participants while facilitating a more transparent and trustworthy global economy. By establishing a consistent digital identity layer, both parties aim to reduce onboarding friction and build a unified verification framework for global trade.
OWG co-founder Andrea Frosinini said, “We believe the future of trade depends on connecting the dots between regulators, technologists, financiers, and civil society. By working openly and thinking systemically, we can build a more resilient, digitally enabled, and sustainable global economy.”
LEI Worldwide CEO Darragh Hayes said, “Joining the Open Working Group is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the future of global digital identity. At LEI Worldwide, we believe in the power of open standards like the LEI and vLEI to create a more transparent and trustworthy financial ecosystem. This initiative is a crucial step toward ensuring interoperability, compliance, and innovation in how institutions identify and engage with one another globally.”
Earlier this year, LEI Worldwide opened a new office in Pune. The expansion aligns with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) efforts to make LEI adoption mandatory for significant financial transactions, marking India as the fastest-growing jurisdiction for LEI adoption globally.
The decision to establish a presence in Pune follows a series of successful high-level meetings in Mumbai and Pune, involving the executive team from LEI Worldwide. These discussions with existing partners, clients, and local banks underscore the growing demand for efficient LEI management within India’s expanding financial ecosystem.
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