Know Your Business, or KYB, is the process of identifying and verifying a business customer and understanding its ownership, control, activities, expected transactions and risk. The exact checks depend on jurisdiction, regulated entity, product and risk profile. Review can continue after onboarding.
What can KYB include?
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Legal identity | Registered name, number, address and status |
| Ownership and control | Shareholders, beneficial owners, directors and authorized users |
| Business activity | Products, customers, countries and website |
| Payment profile | Expected currencies, amounts, counterparties and purposes |
| Evidence | Registry extracts, constitutional documents, IDs and source records |
| Ongoing review | Changes, unusual activity and periodic refresh |
KYB versus KYC
KYC is commonly used for identifying and verifying an individual customer. KYB applies to a legal entity but still includes checks on people who own, control or act for it.
Why beneficial ownership matters
The Financial Action Task Force’s customer due diligence standard calls for identifying and taking reasonable measures to verify the beneficial owner and understand a legal person’s ownership and control structure. FATF also expects information about the purpose and intended nature of the relationship and ongoing scrutiny on a risk-sensitive basis.
KYB approval is not transaction approval
No. A verified business can still face transaction-level checks, route restrictions, information requests or limits. Changes in ownership, activity or payment behavior can trigger another review.
For Quotable Payments, KYB establishes who the business is and who controls it. Access to a particular currency, Recipient or payment route can still require separate checks.
