Glossary
KYB vs KYC: what's the difference?
Two acronyms that get used almost interchangeably, but answer different questions about different subjects.
Definition
KYB vs KYC, in one line - KYB (Know Your Business) verifies a company. KYC (Know Your Customer) verifies a person. When your customer is a business, you typically need both - KYB on the entity, and KYC on the individuals connected to it.
| KYB | KYC | |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | A business entity | An individual person |
| Confirms | Registration, legal status, who controls it | Identity - that this person is who they claim to be |
| Typical source | Official company registers | Government-issued ID, identity documents |
| Ownership question | Yes - resolving to beneficial owners | Not applicable - a person has no "owner" |
Why both usually apply together
A business customer isn't a single subject to check once - it's an entity (checked via KYB) plus a set of individuals connected to it: directors, authorised signatories, and beneficial owners (each potentially checked via KYC). Resolving who those individuals are is KYB's job - specifically, UBO verification. Confirming each of them is who they claim to be is KYC's job. Keizu's resolution engine handles the first part; it does not perform identity verification or sanctions screening, which is a deliberately separate discipline. See about Keizu.
Where the confusion usually comes from
Both acronyms get shortened in conversation to "due diligence checks," and both sit inside the same AML compliance programme - which is exactly why they blur together. The reliable disambiguator is the subject: if the thing being checked is a legal entity, it's KYB; if it's a natural person, it's KYC.
Related
See it work on a real company.