The Connector Podcast - DFS Digital Finance Summit - How GraydonCreditsafe Powers Faster KYC, KYB, And Cross‑Border Decisions

We sit down with Hind from GraydonCreditsafe to unpack how global data, clear indicators, and ethical AI help banks and SMEs make faster, safer decisions. From cross‑border risk and KYC/KYB orchestration to partnerships that fight fraud, we map the path to trusted growth.

• Graydon Creditsafe merger unlocking local depth and international reach
• Balancing KYC, KYB and AML with operational speed
• Standardising cross‑border company data and formats
• Turning complex reports into clear, intuitive indicators
• Empowering SMEs with credit health, governance and resilience signals
• Responsible AI principles and training with quality data
• Partnerships with Harmony for orchestration and Data Village for fraud prevention
• How to connect for collaboration and next steps

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Koen Vanderhoydonk
koen.vanderhoydonk@jointheconnector.com

#FinTech #RegTech #Scaleup #WealthTech

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Connector Podcast, an ongoing conversation connecting fintech, found and regulated worldwide. Join CEO and founder Owen van der Voydon as you learn more about the latest available trends and solutions in the market.

SPEAKER_03 0:20

Welcome to another podcast. And here we are today, a little bit behind our DFS conference, but nevertheless, we have a nice conversation. I've got Hint with me, and Hint is working at Grade and Credit Safe. Can you please explain who you are and what you guys do?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Well, my name is Hint. I'm head of corporate and government affairs at Grade and Credit Safe. And in that role, I oversee our banking, insurance, leasing, and public sector portfolio. It's a very fascinating set of highly regulated environments, and I genuinely enjoy working in them every single day.

SPEAKER_03 1:05

Oh, nice.

Why The Graydon CreditSafe Merger Works

SPEAKER_01 1:06

So and Grade and Credit Safe isn't just another fintech company. We are a very strategic partner in a world where data is becoming increasingly essential. I mean, data, data, data is everywhere. It's a foundation of everything we do. So whether it's about risk management or the need for a uniform scoring methodology or assessing AML risks, we evolve together with our customers.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

And can I say there's a little bit of an elephant in the room? And that's maybe because I'm an older guy that's in the business for a long time. So there is Graydon Credit Safe. Can you explain us a bit more what's the marriage made in heaven?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Well, it's it's indeed a very happy marriage. A few years ago, uh Credit Safe acquired Graydon, and that merger has truly proven its value. Um by coming together, we've shown that everyone becomes stronger with a good marriage or a good um a good marriage.

SPEAKER_03 2:12

One plus one makes eleven.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Yeah, one plus one, everyone is happy. It's uh well when you combine a player with a very deep local expertise with a fantastic international market leader, you get the best of all worlds. You have local depth, international reach, and all the advantages of a large global team filled with highly specialized subject matter experts, and it's a very wonderful environment to uh well to work in every

Balancing Compliance With Speed

SPEAKER_01 2:43

day.

SPEAKER_03 2:44

So interesting, but since you work in a regulated environment, what is then the magic source between both of them?

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Well, for us, the magic sauce or the right balance is really about combining all those regulatory obligations with operational efficiency. We know that not only financial institutions, but also corporates and even SMEs are facing an ever-growing list of compliance requirements. When you look specifically at KYC, KYB, uh AML obligations, there are so many rules to follow. Yet no one, no one wants a process that becomes painfully slow or even prevents us from doing business. So that's where we focus on. We we focus on empowering our clients by enabling them to integrate large volumes of high-quality data-driven insights into their workflows. So that way these checks or screenings can route smoothly, efficiently, and almost invisibly in the background. So operational excellence does not have to suffer in order to stay uh risk-free or or to have a very good risk management in place, at least.

SPEAKER_03 4:07

That makes a lot

Fintech For Good Through Trust

SPEAKER_03 4:08

of sense. Now we are here, we are a few days after the Digital Finance Summit organized by FinTech Belgium, and one of the topics is uh fintech for good. And what does that mean for your organization?

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Well, I have been asked this question so many times uh during the the during the summits and also um these days. And fintech for good is something we genuinely try to live, not just like uh to have it like a label. For us, it comes in several concrete ways. First of all, we help uh companies to protect themselves from risks without being without their processes being very slow or without preventing them from business at all. We help companies to protect themselves against fraud by using fraud indicators that can predict certain behavior. And if you keep businesses safe, you keep the entire market healthy. So that's a very important one. Uh secondly, we make risk assess uh risk management understandable and accessible for everyone. With one clear, very uniform and very readable report, uh, you can make your conclusion. You don't need a specific degree in finance or accounting. Uh so we're making complex topics, a very complex topic available to a much broader audience. And thirdly, we help uh ecosystems to have a very uh to have transparency within the ecosystem. The more visible and trustworthy business becomes, the more resilient the entire economy is. And there's even more. I mean, we ensure that decision making isn't limited by fear or by what happens in the room on a Monday morning or on a Friday afternoon. We provide objective metrics so that you take the same decision on Friday afternoon as you would on Monday morning based on that very uniform credit risk rating. Yeah, I I I wanted to uh just to uh um emphasize that it's about impact, it's about protecting, empowering, including, enabling healthier business environments.

Giving SMEs Risk Tools Fast

SPEAKER_03 6:33

And how is that applicable, for example, for smaller organizations like the typical SMEs of this world?

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Well, SMEs really are the backbone of the Belgian economy, they represent the majority of our economic activity today. They keep our regions vibrant, resilient. So making sure that they also have access to high-quality data-driven insights is absolutely essential. So by giving access to SMEs to the same level of intelligence that large corporates with big risk departments have, um, well, we're empowering thousands of SMEs to have a very steady and good risk management in place as well. And that matters. Um, SMEs can now verify with two clicks if their business relationship is healthy, has a good credit risk rating. Um most SMEs do not uh put AML screenings in place, but even if they would want to do that with one click, they would have an overview of AML risks as well. So we make sure that they have the tools to grow with confidence. They deserve that. For me, they are the economy.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

Well, it's interesting that in this conversation we kind of went from financial institutions and large organizations

Partnerships That Strengthen The Ecosystem

SPEAKER_03 8:01

to SMEs. But let's now talk about startups and let's be back in the fintech area. I know you guys have a lot of partnerships uh going on, and I love to hear a bit more about that collaboration within the industry.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Well, collaboration is truly at the heart of everything we do. Um, and uh the digital finance summit is the perfect example of uh an ecosystem where collaboration grows. It's a very vibrant uh ecosystem where organizations can easily find each other, can talk to each other, see what they can do for and with each other. And that's why I'm also uh very proud of our membership within this FinTech Belgium ecosystem. Um, because that community really embodies uh exactly what I believe in innovation, building bridges, and so on. We have a wide range of collaborations um to make it concrete and then just name two. Um, we have a collaboration or partnership with Harmony, um, where we join forces on uh data orchestration within uh the AML or KYX area. Uh for instance. Uh we also have a very interesting um partnership with Data Village where we collaborate to um well to give fraudsters no chance, let's say it like that. Um and those are just two examples. Uh and but I think the future really is about collaboration. Every player, every fintech player brings a very unique strength. In our case, it's about international data-driven insights. And when you bring strength together, you get a lot of happy uh and and good collaborations or happy marriages, if we want to call it like that. So when the industry collaborates, the whole market evolves and moves forwards.

How To Reach Us And Closing

SPEAKER_03 10:04

And I think on that, on those wise words, I would like to sort of come to the end of this podcast with one last question. Since uh you brought up a lot of topics and you probably um stirred some interest by the listeners. How can they contact you?

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Well, they can contact me uh via email, via phone, uh, via LinkedIn. Um, there is no single door and no wrong door. Always happy to have a chat to see how we can collaborate.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

Thank you very much. Uh thank you very much, Hint, having you in this podcast. Thank you also to the listeners, and please stay tuned. More news from our industry coming on this channel. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

Thanks for listening to another episode of the Connector Podcast. To connect and keep up to date with all the latest, head over to www.jointheconnector.com or hit subscribe via your podcast streaming platform.