Sounds funny, but it's true: over 2,000 cross-border business deals in Europe were delayed in 2023 alone - not because of prices, taxes or legal details, but because a company was not clearly identifiable. This is no joke. And it shows how much the demands on companies have changed.
In a world where everything is digital and international, a fancy pitch deck is no longer enough. If you want to gain trust in the market - with banks, authorities, investors - you have to deliver more: a clear, verifiable corporate identity.
Going global means being able to prove your identity In the past
Expanding into new markets was primarily about language, culture and target groups. Today, the bigger hurdles are of a technical and regulatory nature: can your company prove who it is, where it is registered - and who owns it?
Whether you want to open a company account in Luxembourg or activate a payment gateway in Singapore, the central question is the same everywhere. And it's not about logo or branding, but about your legal fingerprint.
Regulatory authorities, banks, investors - today they all expect clear and retrievable company data. And not as a scanned PDF, but in a structured, machine-readable form.
A key tool for this is the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) - a globally standardized code that makes your company clearly identifiable and is linked to reliable data.
Different regulations, same expectations
Yes, every country has its own rules. But what they require is becoming more and more similar:
- transparency
- traceability
- verifiability
Whether EU (MiFID II), USA (Dodd-Frank) or India (KYC): The systems may have different names, but the core is the same.
What makes this complicated is that companies often face these requirements at the same time - and in completely different technical environments. This is where solutions such as the LEI come into play: It is globally recognized, can be queried automatically and fits into any API. In short: it makes companies machine-readable.
And if you don't have one? Then a single missing data record can be enough for a deal to fall through, a payment to be blocked or an onboarding process not to be completed.
No investor finances a phantom
Strong teams, good products, ambitious plans - that's no longer enough these days. Institutional investors and funds in particular now carry out automated background checks before any discussions take place. What they are looking for:
- Is the company registered?
- What is the legal structure?
- Who are the beneficial owners?
- Is there an LEI?
If you can't provide one - or not quickly enough - you're out. This has long been standard, especially in highly regulated or risky industries (e.g. FinTech, SaaS, Web3).
Cross-border payments and onboarding processes (e.g. for payment service providers or platforms) are also becoming increasingly difficult without an LEI.
Visibility is now part of your reputation
At a time when fake companies, a lack of transparency and dubious structures are rife, one thing is becoming increasingly important: credibility. And it doesn't just start in sales - it starts with the question: Who are you?
The LEI system turns this question into a clear, verifiable answer. It does not replace trust - but it lays the foundation for it.
For regulators, banks, investors, but also for potential partners or customers. An LEI is not an annoying administrative code, but increasingly a kind of digital business card with a reputation guarantee.
And with platforms such as LEI number online – LEI.net making the application and renewal process much easier, there is really no reason to do without one.
Conclusion
Transparency is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a prerequisite - for trust, growth and cross-border cooperation. And those who make their company visible, verifiable and compliant have a real advantage in a fragmented market.
