GLEIF Welcomes Pioneering Advances by China Financial Certification Authority (CFCA) Which Pave the Way for Increased LEI Usage in Mass Market Digital Identity Products
The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has welcomed the first commercial demonstration of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) embedded within digital certificates by the China Financial Certification Authority (CFCA). Simultaneously, GLEIF confirms that CFCA, which is a member of the GLEIF Certification Authorities (CA) Stakeholder Group, is the newest Validation Agent in the Global LEI System and the inaugural CA to sign up for the Validation Agent role.
These developments by CFCA follow the recent launch of the GLEIF CA Stakeholder Group, created as a platform for GLEIF to collaborate with CAs and Trust Service Providers (TSPs) on the coordination and promotion of a global approach to LEI usage across digital identity products. CFCA’s advances are significant because they are the earliest reported successes aligned to the direction of this industry initiative, which is aimed at achieving a critical mass of LEIs embedded within digital certificates.
Stephan Wolf, CEO of GLEIF comments: “This progress by CFCA on both fronts is very welcome as it moves us one step closer to broad LEI usage in digital certificates globally. Realizing the goal of universal LEI usage in digital identity products will be an important step in enhancing trust and creating innovation opportunities across private sector digital identity management applications. Digital certificates linked by an LEI to verified, regularly updated and freely available entity reference data held within the Global LEI System are easier to manage, aggregate and maintain. The result will be significant efficiencies and far less complexity for certificate owners and the provision of greater transparency for all users of the internet and participants within digital exchanges.”
CFCA demo: Using LEIs to link PDF digital certificates to entity reference data in the central GLEIF database
CFCA has become the first market participant to successfully demonstrate a commercial use case of LEIs being embedded in a digital certificate, specifically within the digital certificate issuance process for PDF documents. CFCA’s TrustSign® PDF software supports digital certificate signing and the demo shows the LEI displayed for users alongside certificate properties inside the software.
CFCA’s TrustSign® software digitally stamps a document with a Digital Business Stamp, which embeds an LEI in accordance with ISO 17442-2. When the document is opened and certificate properties are displayed, the LEI is shown and a link provided, via the GLEIF LEI Lookup API, to the trusted, free and easily accessible entity reference data associated with that LEI, held within the central GLEIF database.
Naijin Lu, from CFCA’s Strategic Development Department, comments: “Incorporating LEI into our digital identity products brings many benefits to certificate users, while being very helpful in constructing a digital identity ecosystem. By using GLEIF API for real-time online verification of LEI-related legal entity information, the advantages of digital certificate and LEI can be well integrated in the practice of digital identity to create a better digital identity authentication experience. We are excited to bring forward the first market-based demo of its kind, which proves that the combination of LEI and digital identity products has a bright future. In the future, we will actively explore other application scenarios of LEI in digital identification field, such as vLEI. “
Prior to CFCA’s demo, and in 2019 and 2020 consecutively, GLEIF had brought forward a Proof of Concept when it published its prior year reports with its LEI embedded within the digital certificates of GLEIF’s signing executive officers. Both instances were prior to the publication of ISO 17442-2 in August 2020 which standardized the process of embedding LEIs in digital certificates.
CFCA becomes a Validation Agent within the Global LEI System
In a complementary development which shows CFCA’s commitment to facilitating and promoting LEI issuance in digital certificates, the organization has become the first CA to become a Validation Agent in the Global LEI System. It partnered with a China based LEI issuer, China Financial Computerization Corp (CFCC), to enable customers to obtain LEIs and include them within CFCA products. This partnership, made possible under the GLEIF Validation Framework, provides CFCA customers with a ‘one-stop-shop’ for obtaining their LEIs alongside their identity authentication and information security services.
The Validation Agent Framework, announced by GLEIF in September 2020, enables institutions to improve their customer experience, accelerate client lifecycle management and reduce costs by using ‘business-as-usual’, KYC onboarding procedures to facilitate LEI issuance for their clients.
Wolf concludes: “The swift and successful integration of the LEI into CFCA’s TrustSign® software is a hugely exciting innovation, which we hope will be a catalyst for other similar demos related to LEI usage in digital certificates to emerge. It shows what is possible thanks to ISO 17442-2 and demonstrates the LEI’s unique value in this important use case. GLEIF is happy to confirm CFCA as not only our newest Validation Agent within the Global LEI System, but also as the first CA to take up that role. Its partnership with CFCC has made that possible. As momentum builds for the LEI to be used outside of regulatory use cases, thanks to recognition of the opportunity and efficiencies it can offer to the private sector, provision of Validation Agent services by a wide range of key actors in the digital ID management and verification ecosystem will be critical to servicing scaled-up LEI demand and simplifying LEI issuance.
We are excited to learn more about CFCA’s advances through their engagement in the GLEIF CA Stakeholder Group. Their developments get this digital identity industry collaboration off to an incredibly strong start. We look forward to working with CFCA and all members of the CA Stakeholder Group as we jointly set out to advance trust and transparency within digital identity products.”
GLEIF welcomes CAs and TSPs to join and participate in the CA Stakeholder Group’s quarterly meetings. For more information or to join the group, please email info@gleif.org
- ENDS -
Full resolution images and logos can be downloaded via this link
https://www.gleif.org/en/newsroom/gleif-graphics-images
Relevant link
https://www.gleif.org/en
Source:Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, St. Alban-Vorstadt 5, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Chairman of the Board: Steven Joachim, CEO: Stephan Wolf
Commercial-Register-No.: CHE-200.595.965, VAT-No.: CHE-200.595.965MWST
LEI: 506700GE1G29325QX363
http://bit.ly/1OXTYLo | http://bit.ly/1Me7uZx | GLEIF Blog: http://bit.ly/1LylXkn http://bit.ly/1LylXkn
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210414005319/en/
Contact information
Lucy Bristow / James Kemp
lucy.b@iseepr.co.uk / james@iseepr.co.uk
+44 (0) 113 350 1922
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Europe’s Tech Services Market Hits New High in Q4, on Strong AI, Cloud, Managed Services Demand: ISG Index™19.1.2026 11:00:00 EET | Press release
Demand for technology services in Europe reached a new high in the fourth quarter as the region turned in its best quarterly performance of the year to close out 2025, according to the latest state-of-the-industry report from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. The EMEA ISG Index™, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with annual contract value (ACV) of US $5 million or more, shows fourth-quarter ACV for the combined market (both managed services and cloud-based as-a-service) advanced 27 percent, to a record US $10.9 billion. It was the region’s eighth consecutive quarter of combined market growth, averaging 16 percent in that span. “Europe saved its best for last, with accelerating, AI-fueled demand for cloud services, coupled with renewed momentum in managed services, leading the region to its strongest quarterly performance of 2025,” said Anthony Drake, president, ISG EMEA. “We also saw surging demand
Celonis Champions “Free the Process” Movement at WEF Davos 202619.1.2026 11:00:00 EET | Press release
Celonis, a global leader in Process Intelligence - a key enabler of enterprise AI, today announced its participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2026. Under the event’s theme “A Spirit of Dialogue,” Celonis leaders — including Co-founder and Co-CEO Bastian Nominacher and President Carsten Thoma — will outline what’s needed to make the critical shift from AI experimentation to responsible AI implementation and meaningful RoAI (Return on AI Investment). In an AI-driven world, processes are the engine of enterprise value, and process intelligence is the essential foundation for AI, giving it the cross-system context needed to drive real growth. At WEF 2026, Celonis will outline how an open ecosystem enables organizations to "Free the Process" from rigid systems and vendor-locked silos, so that teams can collaborate, companies and governments can transform their processes, and AI can finally deliver on its true potential. Celonis contributes to the global dialogue by p
Posiflex to Showcase AI-Powered Retail Innovation at EuroShop 202619.1.2026 10:57:00 EET | Press release
Posiflex Technology, Inc., a global leader in Point of Sale (POS) systems and Online-to-Offline (O2O) solutions, will present its latest portfolio of AI-powered retail innovations at EuroShop 2026, taking place from February 22 to 26, 2026 at Messe Düsseldorf, Germany. Celebrating the 60th edition of the world’s leading retail trade fair, Posiflex will demonstrate how AI-enabled technologies and scenario-driven system design can address the evolving demands of modern retail environments, spanning self-checkout, AI recognition, contactless transactions, kitchen operations, and next-generation self-service. Visitors are invited to explore these solutions at Hall 6, Booth C42, and discover how Posiflex supports retailers in building agile, future-ready business models. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260118544299/en/ Posiflex presents end-to-end solutions that redefine the modern retail journey AI-Powered Smart S
Alta Semper Signs Definitive Agreements to Acquire a Majority Stake in Nature’s Rule, a MENA-Focused Leader in Dietary Supplements and Sports Nutrition19.1.2026 10:13:00 EET | Press release
Alta Semper, a London-based private equity firm focused on healthcare and consumer investments across growth markets, today announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in Nature’s Rule, a leading sports nutrition and dietary supplements company headquartered in the UAE, with an established manufacturing presence in Egypt. The acquisition is a majority investment in Prowell Holding, the parent company of Nature’s Rule, the operator of the largest fully dedicated sports nutrition and dietary supplements manufacturing facility in MENA. The company’s infrastructure and in-house R&D capabilities support a portfolio of private-label clients and proprietary brands, including Redrex, its flagship, market-leading sports nutrition brand developed in collaboration with global bodybuilding icon Mamdouh Elssbiay (“Big Ramy”). The founders will retain a significant stake and continue to lead the business. The partnership will execute a focused value-creation plan t
The UK Chooses Bridge Over Troubled Water as the Nation’s Favourite Song of Hope in Solidarity With Refugees19.1.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water has been votedas the UK’s number one #HopeHit ― as part of UK for UNHCR’s ‘Hope on Repeat’ campaign, raising awareness of the hardships facing refugees across the globe this winter. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260119165712/en/ Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water voted the UK's number one #HopeHit With 10% of the public vote, Bridge Over Troubled Water emerged as the UK’s most popular #HopeHit. Since November, the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner has invited people to nominate their #HopeHits - the tunes that connect us and warm our hearts as the weather gets cold. The top hit is announced today, Blue Monday, to help people get through the most depressing day of the year. The 1970 chart topper held off stiff competition from Stand By Me by Ben E King with 5.7% of the vote and Imagine by John Lennon with 5.3%. Hope on Repeat in support o
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom