Why SSI transformation really matters to T+1.

Executive summary

Today’s client onboarding and KYC processes are under significant – and increasing – strain. Incorrect, outdated or mismatched standing settlement instructions (SSIs) currently account for roughly 30% of settlement fails in the UK. In addition, ‘one point-in-time’ know your customer (KYC) onboarding checks leave firms exposed to hidden financial crime risk that drifts silently over time between reviews. And after the 2024 transition to T+1 settlement cycles, the time available to manually correct and address SSI-related issues has significantly reduced.

How then will the UK cope with its own acceleration of settlement cycles in 2027 and what is the risk that these issues escalate following the transition?

The UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST) has made SSI management a core part of its T+1 transition plan¹. The AST not only recommends the adoption of the FMSB Standard for Sharing SSIs, it also asks the UK industry to adopt digital KYC solutions, where available and legally possible, to remove onboarding bottlenecks. 

What does this look like in practice? By joining automated SSIs and continuous KYC into a corporate digital identity (CDI), firms have an opportunity to reduce institutional onboarding times and drive down compliance costs – derisking their entire trade cycles ahead of the T+1 transition. 

This paper sets out what a qualifying solution looks like and what firms should do before the UK moves to T+1 on 11 October 2027.

¹The UK will move to T+1 under an amendment to UK CSDR: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accelerated-settlement-t1/policy-note-mandating-t1-settlement-in-the-uk