Regulatory backing boosts LEI adoption in global payments

LEI expands from capital markets to payments, supply chains and ESG.

The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is rapidly gaining traction across various sectors beyond its origins in capital markets, with notable adoption in payments, supply chains, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, according to Alexandre Kech, CEO of the Global LEI Foundation (GLEIF).

“The LEI standard started first in the capital market 10 years ago and has progressively evolved into different use cases, including payments, supply chain, and ESG,” said Kech during Sibos 2024 in Beijing.

Adoption in payments has accelerated, especially in India, where LEI use is required for high-value transactions, and the trend is expected to grow globally. “Cross-border transactions following the FSB requirements…where LEI is one of the recommended standards for identification of counterparties” are driving its use, Kech added.

Regulatory and industry support are key to LEI’s growth, with backing from 71 global regulators. “The support on the regulatory side has been quite intense through mandates or recommendations of usage,” Kech noted.