More organizations and compliance teams are increasingly aware of the implications of not having effective KYC and KYB protocols in place at the commencement of new customer relationships as a result of increased regulatory reform and widespread money laundering and illegal activities.
Most people, on the other hand, are unable to differentiate between KYC and KYB. To begin, KYB (Know Your Business) compliance shares all of the major KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance standards. They both have the same primary goal in mind: to comply with AML/CTF requirements in order to keep financial transactions safe and secure.
Both verification checks are rigorous and adhere to compliance rules, but they have one thing in common: they are different. The difference between the two is whether the target is a person or an organization, and if the traits of that person or organization’s identity are being studied.
What is KYC?
People that apply to open accounts at banks, financial institutions, or crypto exchanges have their financial backgrounds and past records checked for any financial fraud/illicit behavior in order to determine that they are not involved in any illegal activity . Banks and financial institutions can utilize these risk scores and profiles to comply with increasingly severe anti-money laundering legislation.
The compliance and identification sectors first concentrated on KYC, then moved on to KYB and business attribute verification as rules became more stringent. KYB digitalization is less progressed than KYC digitization. KYC became known as eKYC as technology and cloud computing grew more common, as the shift to the cloud and SaaS enhanced productivity, reduced compliance costs, and eliminated the manual work that used to slow document verification process down.
What is KYB?
KYB compliance checks, also known as Know Your Business checks, aim to verify the legitimacy of firms, companies, and organizations, as well as monitor their financial transactions over time as part of extended due diligence. These rigorous examinations examine a company’s qualities, ownership, and other identifiable information in order to safeguard businesses from financial fraud. KYB compliance comprises business verification, data submission, and several monitoring stages that are very similar to KYC compliance. The verification information is reviewed against data obtained from public archives and automated AML databases.
Difference between KYC and KYB:
Both KYB and KYC compliance have the same goal in mind: to regulate financial transactions and monitor any potential financial crimes. Their target scope, on the other hand, distinguishes them.
Since enormous fraud and Ponzi schemes have led to a crackdown on anonymous ownerships or shell businesses, practically every industry follows the regulatory standards in KYB compliance. KYB is widely used in a variety of industries, including virtual service providers, money service providers, internet enterprises, the health and wellness industry, non-profit associations, and, most notably, financial institutions/banks.
Basic requirements that KYC and KYB needs:
KYC focuses on individual bank customers who need to verify their identity and address by providing documents. These data establish the individual’s financial character and assist the bank in determining the extent of due diligence that may be required.
- A PAN (Permanent Account Number) card with a photo and a state-issued ID card are among the verification requirements.
Because KYB focuses on corporations and organizations, its verification process necessitates the submission of information such as the character report of the organization’s sole beneficial owner as well as the character reports of all investors who own a quarter share. The following items must be verified:
The following items must be verified:
- Business Registration and Licensing
- UBO Identification Documents are documents that are used to identify UBOs (directors and representatives)
- Any debit or credit card issued by a financial institution.
- A copy of utility bills with an address, such as electric bills
- A digitized photograph on a Visa/License Driver’s
The digitization of KYC and KYB:
KYC and KYB both had to go through multiple stages of trial by the financial institutions that used them after their debut. They tweaked and adjusted the verification procedure to fit their needs, but KYC and KYB remained time-consuming. Digitization was adopted to increase compliance by reducing manual effort and eliminating the possibility of human error.
The use of new advanced features such as Identity Verification, Virtual Verification, Online submission of verification records, Online Database, and AI-based Diligence are all part of the digitization of KYB and KYC compliance. This digitization will almost certainly prevent any errors and improve the diligence process.
As AI becomes smarter, the advancement in the digitization of KYB and KYC compliance improves with each passing year.
AI-based questions, for example, assist in the process of business verification by eliminating flaws and errors that occur while enrolling new clients. The following are the important elements of KYB and KYC compliance that have been permanently improved as a result of their digitization:
Conclusion:
KYB and KYC criteria are used to infiltrate any individual, whether alone or as part of a business, who is engaging in illicit tax avoidance and money laundering operations, with the added benefit of business verification.
Financial fraud is becoming more common by the day, thus banks must keep a close eye on their customers. KYB and KYC both have the same goal in mind, despite the fact that they target distinct types of people. Apart from detecting extortion, these compliances work together to make financial transactions safer and smoother all around the world, lowering the rate of financial crimes.
