Insights

Transforming custody account opening with technology

2025 transition to ISO 20022

Account opening remains a persistent challenge for custodians globally, hindered by extended timelines, repetitive document submissions and uncertainties in market access — all contributing to inefficiencies. As the finance industry undergoes rapid digital transformation, can advanced technology and strategic behavioral shifts also revolutionize the account opening process? 
 

April 2025

During Global Custodian’s roundtable, "Unlocking the Future: Transforming Custody Account Opening with Technology," a panel of financial sector leaders convened to explore the challenges and opportunities in modernizing this critical process. The panel featured State Street’s Suren Sankar, managing director of Global Custody, alongside experts from S&P Global Market Intelligence and Deutsche Bank, who provided valuable insights from within the industry.

Panelists underscored the inefficiencies of the current manual, paper-based processes prevalent in the custody space and highlighted the advantages of leveraging automation and technological innovation to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and improve client experiences. They discussed how evolving compliance requirements create significant complexities, necessitating firms to continually update administrative processes, which in turn causes delays. To combat these inefficiencies, the panelists are deploying AI-driven platforms to scan and interpret regulatory updates across multiple jurisdictions and utilizing smart contract technologies to enforce compliance rules throughout the onboarding process.

Additionally, State Street’s Sankar pointed out that challenges such as bifurcated processes and lack of transparency are “interconnected pain points within the ecosystem,” contributing to lengthy timeframes and complicated manual procedures, which introduce risk. He emphasized the need for digitization to provide visibility for clients and reduce manual touchpoints, which currently result in slow, linear progress.

Sankar also called for increased collaboration among buy-side firms, global custodians and sub-custodians, particularly in the digitization and standardization of data, urging global custodians to leverage their collective influence to drive transformation in the custody space.
The panelists concurred that while the challenges are significant, embracing change and investing in technology solutions to modernize the account opening process will lead to improved client satisfaction, reduced operational risks and increased productivity.

Watch the full webinar below:
 

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