Know Your Customer FAQ

The Know Your Business (KYB) or Business KYC process is a series of checks that should be performed to identify and verify the corporate and ownership structure of business clients.

Banks, fintech companies, payment providers, law firms, real estate agents, corporate service providers, fund administrators and many more businesses are required by regulators to verify their business customers through official documentation and independent information to limit the risk of money laundering and terrorism financing.

A key step in the KYB process is the identification of Ultimate Beneficial Owners, or UBOs. UBOs are individuals that effectively own a company. In the case of complex company structures, identifying the UBOs of a company can be an extremely time-consuming and challenging process.

We offer real-time registry connections for KYB verification in 120+ countries worldwide. Our unmatched coverage – available here – makes us the No.1 provider of real-time connections in the industry.

The documents vary depending upon the jurisdiction in which the investigation is being undertaken. Many jurisdictions provide a summary of information relating to the company, which includes many of the details required to complete KYC checks, along with copies of constitutional/ incorporation documents and financial information.

Our in-house regulatory experts have mapped our RegTech solution to automatically retrieve the documents that – in each jurisdiction – are required in order to complete the KYC process.

All our time-stamped documents are sourced directly from the relevant company registry and provide full documentary evidence as required by regulators.

If you’d like to find out more about which documents we are able to automatically retrieve in different jurisdictions, please contact us at info@knowyourcustomer.com.

By default, Know Your Customer will return all available documents needed to complete your KYC and KYB case for each jurisdiction, where possible.  If other documents are available for the relevant company, you may request other documents.

All company registries provide documents in the language of that particular country. The Know Your Customer solution automatically extracts key company information from all incorporation documents, providing users with standardes information in English across all jurisdictions.

No. Documents vary on a country by country basis depending upon the laws and regulations of that specific country in relation to public access to such information and the requirements to file such information with the company registry.

Information is usually not provided by some company registries due to local laws and regulations which restrict the public disclosure to certain sensitive information.

The checks conducted will vary depending upon the AML legislation of the relevant jurisdiction for which the search is being undertaken. However, as a guide, checks are usually undertaken as follows:

• That the company exists and is not in liquidation
• The directors and shareholders
• The constitutional/ incorporation documentation
• The latest annual return
• The latest financial statements
• Data bases we use to verify information

Some registries will not provide sensitive information, like financial information or shareholder data, and this will have to be provided by your client. However, once you have obtained the documents you require, Know Your Customer is able to extract shareholder information and compare them to several standard AML sanctions lists.

In today’s highly digital world, it is not uncommon to complete transactions and build business relationships with individuals you have never met in person.

Using mobile and web-based technology together with international and local data sources, we provide you with the tools you need to verify your clients’ identities accurately. At the same time, we provide your clients with the ability to complete their ID Verification process from the palm of their hands, wherever they are and whenever it suits them best.

We understand that, in addition to proof of identity documents, our clients might like to make full use of our robust document management module. This is why our document collection tools (including our mobile app and web portal) can be configured on a per-client basis to request additional documentation, allowing end customers to upload additional documents during their online journey.

Alternatively, your compliance team can also manually upload any documents they wish to include in a case and we will time stamp the upload and allow you to retrieve it whenever and wherever you need.

Yes, we initially run all identified directors and shareholders through several international sanction lists as they are identified and notify you of any adverse results. Our solution also runs weekly AML checks by default and allows administrators to set event or date triggers to carry out ongoing due diligence in line with internal or regulatory obligations.

The upload of the collected documents through the app and the web portal takes only seconds, subject to the speed of the end user’s internet connection, and your compliance staff will be alerted of each new upload immediately. From there it takes only a couple of clicks to the full view of those documents and all entered details.

We understand that in addition to proof of identity documents our clients might like to make full use of our robust document management module. This is why you can easily upload any document you wish to include in a case and we will time stamp the upload and allow you to retrieve it whenever and wherever you need.

As an extra layer of security, Know Your Customer partners with third-party providers to run real-time checks on your clients’ documents and information.

Similar to the technology used in airports worldwide, our solution checks hundreds of photo ID documents from around the world for authenticity based on a number of key indicators. Our solution provides you with detailed information about the findings to help you make informed decisions and keep your business safe from potential fraud.

If you are already a customer, please contact your designated account manager or our support team at help@knowyourcustomer.com.

If you are considering using our services and wish to ask a question, please email us on info@knowyourcustomer.com

We are constantly expanding the languages already built in our multilingual mobile app.

We currently support:

• English
• French
• German
• Chinese (simplified)
• Chinese (traditional)
• Japanese
• Thai
• Malay
• Cambodian
• Danish
• Spanish
• Arabic
• Indonesian
• Greek
• Italian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Irish
• Norwegian
• Swedish
• Vietnamese
• Korean
• Finnish
• Russian

Our back end Virtual Compliance Desk is fully available in English, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.

Additionally, our processes use Unicode character encoding for all text elements. That means that names, addresses, etc. can be entered and processed in any script or language.

All – that is the short answer. Internally our processes use Unicode character encoding for all text elements. That means that names, addresses, etc. can be entered and processed in any script or language. This includes Chinese (simplified and traditional), Thai, Japanese, Russian, Greek, Arabic and western languages, just to name a few.

Yes, our experienced development team can quickly connect to most in-house solutions. Please note that our system is fully built on a Rest API Infrastructure.

We offer multiple levels of support to accompany our pricing plans to cater to your needs anytime and in any jurisdictions. Speak to your Know Your Customer representative for more details or contact us on info@knowyourcustomer.com.

Yes, our hierarchical access controls allow you to allocate privileges to staff, team leaders, department heads, additional locations, or even to an auditor for temporary access.

Our solution is extremely customer friendly, but if you need a few days to test our technology then we are happy to help. Alternatively, let us work on a pilot program together to test how our solutions meet your needs. Just talk to your representative or contact us on info@knowyourcustomer.com to explore the best option for you.

Like your mobile phone plan, we treat Know Your Customer as a utility.  We will help you choose the right plan for your needs to ensure you only pay for what you need and can predict/forecast your costs with absolute confidence.

As you grow or your needs change we will review your account each quarter. Should your clients extend beyond  current jurisdictional plans we will apply retrospective billing and, if appropriate following a discussion with you, will adjust you to a solution that better fits your needs moving forward.  We will never restrict you from identifying your clients wherever they are.

You will be billed in the currency that makes sense for you. Currencies include US Dollars, Euros, Sterling, Hong Kong Dollars and Singapore Dollars.

We offer credit card, direct debit, or business invoicing options.

Documents costs can vary greatly per jurisdiction and we have no way of identifying the ownership structures of corporates until we begin our investigation. That said, Know Your Customer was designed as a KYC compliance solution and so we provide our clients with documents, audit trail, and access management all rolled into one predictable fee per quarter.  If your case load extends beyond your current plan, that is not a problem we will simply bill you retrospectively and then look to move you into a more economical plan to match your needs. For more information, please contact us here.

Any changes to the terms and conditions will be posted to our website and if you are a client you will be notified by email, sent to the email address as set out in the SaaS Agreement.

Yes, our solution was built by experienced compliance practitioners completely versed in KYC and AML processes. Additionally, highly reputable legal companies in key markets have reviewed our system in full. For more details on available legal reviews, please contact us at info@knowyourcustomer.com.

Yes, we do monitor for proposed legislative or guidance changes in the jurisdictions that we cover and, where necessary, our search procedures and jurisdiction fact sheets are updated accordingly.

However, we do not provide advice in relation to any changes. You should consult your relevant advisor should you require advice in relation to any proposed changes.

No. Under AML laws and regulations, you are not able to delegate or outsource your AML function. Know Your Customer provides you with the information you need on an individual and/or corporate ownership structure to enable your in-house compliance team to make an overall decision with regard to the take-on of the business. We do not advise as to whether or not you should take on the business.

Our solution cannot be used to replace any compliance regulatory requirements you may have, but rather to complement the team that you have undertaking that regulatory obligation.

As has proven to be the case in other areas where technology has been introduced, the result for KYC compliance is a better level of consistency for the built-in checks. That said, a human forensic expert should still verify a document. The marriage of the strengths of both humans and technology makes our solution better than other offerings in the marketplace.

If you would like a copy of our Data Protection Policy, click here.

All our of client account data is encrypted and all accounts are completely isolated from each other.

Know Your Customer uses Microsoft Azure’s infrastructure. Azure is resilient to attack, safeguards user access to the Azure environment and helps keep customer data secure through encrypted communications as well as threat management and mitigation practices, including regular penetration testing.

Because the data you host with us belongs to you, you have control over where it is stored and how it is securely accessed and deleted. Microsoft has the largest global footprint of available zones of all public cloud providers.

No, Know Your Customer is built on the premise that you control your own customer data in the cloud.  You decide who has visibility, who can access it and under what circumstances.

Know Your Customer will supply clients with a backup of all their data at cost in the case of non-renewal.  You, the client, always own the data!

Yes, our Modular Compliance solution provides full KYC and KYB case management for complex multi-jurisdictional corporates, business entities and individuals. This end-to-end, integrated approach to KYC Compliance is what makes us unique in the market. To discover more about our products, click here.

Know Your Customer is headquartered in Hong Kong and has additional offices in Dublin, Singapore, London and Shanghai. Additionally, our highly distributed team includes representatives across 16 jurisdictions around the world. If you’d like to arrange a meeting with one of our team members, please contact us here.