The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has undertaken a proof-of-concept to support the development of cross-border organisational trust services recognised by Japan and Europe.
The proof-of-concept found that by embedding the legal entity identifier (LEI) with eSeals — electronic signatures associated with legal entities — it presented international interoperability and enhanced trust advantages, says GLEIF.
The initiative aims to support a Japanese consortium programme which looks to develop entity-level trust services that are mutually recognisable by Japanese and European organisations.
GLEIF indicates that there is a growing requirement for harmonisation in cross-border trust services to support an ever-increasing level of international trade and commerce taking place across digital platforms.
To address this challenge, GLEIF has concluded a proof-of-concept exercise in partnership with a number of digital trust services stakeholders in Japan and Europe, to demonstrate the benefits of embedding standardised and machine-readable LEIs in eSeal certificates.
Due to a lack of international uniformity in eSeal format or requirements, there is no mutually recognised way for an eSeal recipient to verify the authenticity of a sender’s identity beyond national borders, according to the organisation.
The LEI can provide an additional trust layer in eSeals used across borders by acting as an internationally compatible verified entity identifier.
GLEIF says that through harmonising eSeal formats and allowing trust sources to be recognised across regions, it will enable greater mutual trust in the authenticity of counterparties engaged in an international digital transaction.
Stephan Wolf, GLEIF CEO, comments: “Trust services are critical to the support of international trade and commerce. This co-operation between Japanese and European organisations — at a time when Japan is formalising national entity-level trust services — is incredibly forward-looking and it paves the way for LEIs to become embedded within eSeals globally in the future.
“Through this proof-of-concept we demonstrated the benefits the LEI can bring in helping to establish an additional trust layer and the international interoperability of trust services. Interoperability is critical because it will support the realisation of Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) — a G20 endorsed guiding principle for international cooperation on data flows.”
