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The unified orchestration layer for wallets and alternative payments
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The secure repository for all your payment methods
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Workflow-driven payments intelligence for smarter routing and higher auth rates
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A flexible fraud and authentication layer. Instantly add advanced fraud tools and 3DS
One integration to sell inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and every agentic platform
The visual workflow builder that ties fraud, identity, and payment routing together in one place
The unified orchestration layer for wallets and alternative payments
The secure repository for all your payment methods
Workflow-driven payments intelligence for smarter routing and higher auth rates
A flexible fraud and authentication layer. Instantly add advanced fraud tools and 3DS
One integration to sell inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and every agentic platform
The visual workflow builder that ties fraud, identity, and payment routing together in one place
KYB (Know Your Business)
Know Your Business (KYB) is the due diligence process of verifying the identity and legitimacy of business customers before providing them with financial services or payment capabilities. While KYC (Know Your Customer) focuses on verifying individual natural persons, KYB focuses on business entities, confirming that a company is legally registered, understanding its ownership structure, identifying its Beneficial Owners and Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs), and assessing its risk profile.
KYB is a requirement for any payments business that onboards other businesses as customers: Payment Facilitators (PayFacs) onboarding sub-merchants, marketplace platforms onboarding sellers, B2B payment platforms onboarding corporate clients, and BaaS providers onboarding fintech customers. The goal is to prevent fraudulent, shell, or criminally controlled businesses from accessing payment infrastructure to launder money, commit fraud, or evade sanctions.
A complete KYB process typically involves: verifying business registration with relevant government registries, confirming the business's legal name, address, and registration number, identifying all Beneficial Owners who meet ownership or control thresholds, conducting KYC checks on those beneficial owners, screening the business and its principals against sanctions lists and adverse media, understanding the nature of the business and its expected transaction patterns, and assessing risk based on industry type, geographic presence, and ownership complexity.
The depth of KYB required scales with risk. A well-established public company requires lighter KYB than a newly formed LLC in a high-risk jurisdiction with complex beneficial ownership. Risk-based KYB programs apply proportionate scrutiny, more intensive verification for higher-risk entities, streamlined processes for lower-risk ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents are typically required for KYB verification?
Standard KYB documentation includes: Certificate of Incorporation or equivalent business registration document, business license (for regulated industries), bank account details or a recent bank statement, government-issued ID for all beneficial owners (feeding into the KYC process for individuals), and sometimes financial statements for larger or higher-risk businesses. For companies with complex ownership structures, holding companies, trusts, international entities, documentation tracing the ownership chain to the Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) may also be required.
How does KYB differ for a global business versus a domestic one?
International KYB is more complex because business registration, beneficial ownership disclosure requirements, and government registry accessibility vary significantly by country. Some jurisdictions have well-maintained, searchable public registries; others have opaque or incomplete records. Businesses operating in multiple countries may need to produce registration documents from each jurisdiction and may face scrutiny about their cross-border ownership structure.
How long does KYB take, and can it be automated?
Manual KYB for a straightforward business in a major jurisdiction can take one to three business days. Complex ownership structures, international entities, or high-risk industries can extend this significantly. Automated KYB solutions, using APIs to query business registries, sanctions databases, and adverse media sources, can complete initial verification checks in minutes for common business types in well-documented markets.
Related Terms
