Definition
Know Your Customer (KYC) is the process of verifying an individual’s identity, typically with a government ID, selfie match, and database checks against sanctions and politically exposed persons lists. Know Your Business (KYB) extends this to legal entities: registration documents, tax IDs, and verification of beneficial owners with 25% or greater ownership.
Any platform that pays out to third parties, such as marketplaces, gig apps, and creator platforms, must collect KYC or KYB before releasing funds, and must refresh it periodically.
Example
A marketplace onboards a new seller. HL Hunt’s hosted onboarding collects the business EIN, verifies the owner’s ID in under two minutes, screens against sanctions lists, and activates payouts automatically.
How HL Hunt handles it
HL Hunt provides hosted and API-driven KYC/KYB with instant approval for most applicants, ongoing monitoring, and tiered verification so sellers can start small and verify more as volume grows.