{"head":{"title":"KYC vs KYB: Checking People vs Checking Businesses","description":"KYC verifies an individual customer; KYB verifies a business, its registration and the people who own or control it. How each works in onboarding software.","canonical":"https://oceanlab.in/questions/kyc-vs-kyb"},"crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"Questions","path":"/questions"},{"name":"What is the difference between KYC and KYB?","path":"/questions/kyc-vs-kyb"}],"question":"What is the difference between KYC and KYB?","answer":["KYC (know your customer) checks that an individual is who they say they are. KYB (know your business) checks a company: that it exists and is registered, what it does, and who owns and controls it, which then means running KYC on those people too."],"sections":[{"heading":"KYC: checking a person","body":[["For US banks, the customer identification program rule in 31 CFR 1020.220 sets the minimum: collect name, date of birth, address and an identification number before opening an account, and verify identity with risk-based procedures. Other regulated firms and other countries have similar rules."],["In software that means identity document capture, liveness or selfie checks, database checks, sanctions and politically exposed person screening, and a review queue for the cases the automated checks cannot clear."]],"bullets":[]},{"heading":"KYB: checking a business","body":[["For legal entity customers, US covered financial institutions must identify and verify beneficial owners under 31 CFR 1010.230. That means each person who owns 25 percent or more of the equity, plus one person with significant control, such as the CEO or CFO."]],"bullets":[["Confirm the company in official registers: legal name, registration number, address and status."],["Collect the ownership structure, which can run through several layers of holding companies."],["Run KYC on each beneficial owner and the control person."],["Screen the company and the people against sanctions lists, and assess the business's risk from its industry and countries."],["Monitor for changes over time, not only at onboarding."]]}],"faqs":[{"question":"Does every fintech app need KYC?","answer":"Not every one. It depends on what the product does, which licences sit behind it and where it operates. Products that hold or move money usually do, often through a partner bank's or provider's programme."},{"question":"Can we buy KYC and KYB instead of building them?","answer":"Usually yes, and most teams should. Identity and business verification vendors cover the checks; you build the onboarding flow, the review tools and the audit trail around them."},{"question":"Why is KYB onboarding slower?","answer":"Ownership chains, missing registry data and documents that need a human to read them. Good tooling helps the reviewer, but some manual review is normal."}],"terms":[{"href":"/glossary/maker-checker","label":"maker-checker"},{"href":"/glossary/human-in-the-loop","label":"human-in-the-loop"},{"href":"/glossary/structured-output","label":"structured output"}],"tools":[{"href":"/tools/kyc-cost-per-check","label":"KYC cost per check","detail":"Free tool"},{"href":"/tools/fintech-app-cost","label":"Fintech app cost","detail":"Free tool"},{"href":"/tools/build-vs-buy","label":"Build vs buy","detail":"Free tool"}],"links":[{"href":"/glossary/kyc","label":"KYC (know your customer)","detail":"Glossary"},{"href":"/glossary/kyb","label":"KYB (know your business)","detail":"Glossary"},{"href":"/build/kyc-onboarding","label":"Building KYC onboarding","detail":"Identity checks, business checks and review queues."},{"href":"/software/banking","label":"Software for banking","detail":"Banking systems, controls and regulation."}],"related":[{"href":"/questions/how-much-does-a-fintech-app-cost","label":"How much does a fintech app cost?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/questions/when-do-i-need-pci-dss","label":"When do I need PCI DSS?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/questions/what-is-dora-for-fintech","label":"What is DORA for fintech?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/compare/ai-agent-vs-workflow-automation","label":"AI agent vs workflow automation","detail":"Comparison"},{"href":"/compare/rag-vs-fine-tuning","label":"RAG vs fine-tuning","detail":"Comparison"},{"href":"/glossary","label":"Glossary","detail":"Every term, in plain words."}],"sources":[{"title":"31 CFR 1020.220, Customer identification programs for banks (eCFR)","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/subtitle-B/chapter-X/part-1020/subpart-B/section-1020.220","checkedAt":"2026-10-25"},{"title":"31 CFR 1010.230, Beneficial ownership requirements for legal entity customers (eCFR)","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/subtitle-B/chapter-X/part-1010/subpart-B/section-1010.230","checkedAt":"2026-10-25"}],"legal":true,"updatedAt":"2026-10-25"}