KYC (Know Your Customer) is a mandatory process used by financial institutions and other organisations to verify the identity of clients when they open accounts and during the course of their relationship. It's a critical tool in combating financial crimes, including money laundering, scams and terrorist financing. KYC involves various verification steps, including checking IDs, addresses, and recently other personal data such as verifying biometric data to ensure customers are who they claim to be.
Failure for organisations to comply can lead to heavy penalties, as seen globally, where non-compliance fines reached $26 billion between 2008 and