Know Your Customer

Know Your Customer is the set of checks a regulated business performs to confirm that customers are who they claim to be. It usually combines collecting identifying information, verifying a government document, and screening the customer against sanctions and politically exposed person lists.

KYC is a compliance obligation, not just a security control. It originates in anti-money-laundering law and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which national regulators translate into requirements for banks, payment firms, and a growing range of other businesses.

The process is not one-time. Ongoing monitoring, sometimes called perpetual KYC, requires firms to keep customer information current and to re-verify when risk indicators change, such as unusual transaction patterns or expired identity documents.

For CIAM, KYC raises the bar on onboarding for regulated products: registration must capture and verify real-world identity, often through document and liveness checks, and the resulting evidence must be retained and auditable.

Sources

• FATF Recommendations: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/topics/fatf-recommendations.html