Verifying Know Your Customer (KYC) has grown so crucial that failure to adhere to predetermined requirements could result in penalties for firms. We will talk about this and other KYC-related questions in this article.
Simply said, KYC verification is the procedure that a business uses to confirm the identification of clients in order to determine their reliability and authenticity. This is done as part of the company’s customer due diligence methodology to evaluate the risks of conducting business with such customers.
Know Your Customers or KYC, is one of the most significant difficulties that businesses and institutions in any sector must deal with because of its significance in regard to customer onboarding, its connection to identity fraud and AML controls, as well as its legal standards. Because of this, an increasing number of businesses are investing in KYC software that satisfies the standards established by the various KYC compliance legislation.
Importance Of Know Your Customer
It is vital to create standards that aid in the fight against online fraud due to the widespread usage of new technologies and the internet. Because of this, any type of business that wants to sign up a user as a customer must comply with the legal and international requirements by following the KYC method.
Although it affects many industries and is required for delicate procedures in all of them, it is particularly important in the financial and banking sectors as well as closely connected ones like insurance, real estate, for instance, trading and cryptocurrencies as well.
Given the health crisis that the entire world has been dealing with since 2020, many businesses have been obliged to set up Know Your Customer KYC processes online and remotely in order to continue operating despite any potential legal constraints that would prevent offline onboarding.
Although KYC partners for the major sector organisations’ customer acquisition procedures previously worked to optimise their processes and lower their acquisition expenses, digital KYC processes have been a reality for years.
Given the health crisis that the entire world has been dealing with since 2020, many businesses have been obliged to set up Know Your Customer KYC processes online and remotely in order to continue operating despite any potential legal constraints that would prevent offline onboarding.
Although KYC partners for the major sector organisations’ customer acquisition procedures previously worked to optimise their processes and lower their acquisition expenses, digital KYC processes have been a reality for years.
The main goal of KYC is to stop financial institutions from being used as tools for potential terrorist and money laundering schemes. To better control the risks involved with conducting transactions, it also aids banks and other financial institutions in identifying, evaluating, and understanding their clients.
The following are some of the most prevalent justifications for requiring KYC verification in today’s business world:
Identity Theft:
One important issue KYC addresses is identity theft. In the past, thieves could simply use a false name and address to conduct business with financial institutions because there were no sophisticated mechanisms in place. However, when technology for complete background checks evolved, thieves were forced to become more intelligent and utilise well-planned identity masks to evade checks. But KYC compliance nowadays is a comprehensive combination of both physical and digital identity verification, aiding financial institutions in spotting identity theft at a distance. With KYC, businesses can quickly verify clients’ identities to assess risks and stop phoney accounts from being opened.
Money Laundering:
Another significant method utilised by criminal activity to carry out its deeds is money laundering. Essentially, the phrase alludes to the illicit transfer of funds. This covers drug use, racketeering, human trafficking, and other offences. To avoid raising suspicion, criminal organisations split their bank savings evenly among several suspicious accounts. The funds are subsequently illegally transmitted to local or offshore accounts for the purpose of money laundering. Money spent to buy gold, jewellery, and artwork that has been stolen is a prime illustration of this. These things could legally be exchanged for money by being sold.
Financial Frauds:
Another behaviour that KYC has significantly reduced is financial fraud. Basically, it refers to financial deception that goes beyond money laundering and financing of terrorism. For instance, before KYC was properly implemented, offenders were accustomed to creating dummy accounts using phoney IDs to engage in illegal operations. Such a person could request for a loan using the fictitious account, get it, and then steal the money while permanently docile the account.
