KYC, Know Your Client (or Customer) is a standard guideline for the financial industry service providers in any business relationship. It is essentially a checklist to ensure that they have confirmed their client’s identity as well as any ongoing risks with maintaining that relationship. This is particularly common now on all digital finance platforms where users will be asked to verify their identities.
KYC is an extension of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Funding policies that are implemented by regional governments. Know Your Client is a common guideline used around the world, although different countries do have slightly different protocols. Originally, Know Your Client was only implemented in financial institutions, but today it applies to non-financial institutions as well as BaaS providers and other ancillary financial companies.