ANTWERP WORLD DIAMOND CENTRE [AWDC]

Innovation challenge

In recent years the Belgian banking industry has become more hesitant to provide basic banking services to the many local diamond companies. Finding ways to bridge the existing gap between financial institutions and diamond related companies looking for banking services is fundamental for further growth of Antwerp as the world’s diamond hub.

Solution developed

In a recent workshop with local compliance experts from the banking industry, AWDC discussed several concepts that will unburden both diamond related companies and banks when establishing new relations. The challenges are mainly related to the collection of and easy access to Know Your Customer (KYC) information and Transaction Monitoring data on new customers. One of the promising concepts is a database where banks can easily find all necessary documentation to get to know a new diamond trader. Such a digital platform will not only reduce costs for banks, but it will also increase credibility as organisations like AWDC and FOD will automatically transmit their available information to the system. On the other hand, diamond traders will need to put less effort into providing the required onboarding documentation to the bank, resulting in a win-win situation that is advantageous to all parties involved.

How did the coaching enable to accelerate?

Trissia Stavropoulos: "The programme has helped us to identify some concrete concepts regarding solutions for basic banking service challenges in the diamond industry. For years, we have been aware of the existing challenges faced by both banks and Antwerp diamond dealers, but the creative approach and solution-oriented exercise during a recent expert focus group provided some promising concepts."