KYC — Know Your Customer Due Diligence

KYC

The process of verifying the identity of clients and assessing their risk profile before establishing a business relationship.

Know Your Customer (KYC) is a fundamental component of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. Under UK regulations, businesses in regulated sectors must verify the identity of their customers, understand the purpose of the business relationship, and conduct ongoing monitoring.

KYC involves three levels of due diligence: Simplified Due Diligence (SDD) for low-risk customers, Standard Due Diligence (CDD) for normal-risk relationships, and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for high-risk situations such as PEPs, high-risk countries, or complex ownership structures.

For corporate customers, KYC extends to Know Your Business (KYB) — verifying the company's registration, identifying beneficial owners (PSCs), understanding the corporate structure, and checking directors against sanctions lists and disqualification registers.

BORSCH.AI streamlines corporate KYC by providing instant access to Companies House data, PSC ownership chains, director networks, sanctions screening, and risk scoring across 53 government data sources — reducing manual verification time from hours to minutes.

5,531,511
Companies with PSC Records

Frequently Asked Questions

What documents are needed for KYC?

For individuals: government-issued photo ID and proof of address. For companies: certificate of incorporation, articles of association, register of directors, PSC register, and proof of registered address.

How often should KYC be updated?

KYC should be reviewed regularly — typically annually for high-risk customers, every 3 years for standard risk, and every 5 years for low risk. Event-driven reviews should occur when there are material changes to the business relationship.

What is the difference between KYC and KYB?

KYC (Know Your Customer) covers individual identity verification, while KYB (Know Your Business) extends this to corporate entities — verifying company registration, beneficial ownership, director backgrounds, and corporate structure.

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Data sourced from 53 official UK government and regulatory bodies including Companies House, FCA, HMRC, and Land Registry. Updated daily.