Top 5 KYC Providers in 2023
As financial markets become increasingly regulated, and the need for customer due diligence grows, businesses are constantly on the lookout for top-notch KYC providers to help them stay ahead of compliance requirements. But who are the top players in this space? Our comprehensive review of the industry has identified five key KYC providers emerging as leaders in 2023.
But first, start with the basics.
What is KYC?
KYC, or “know your customer,” is a regulatory compliance requirement for financial services firms to verify identities, monitor transactions, and assess the risk of potential customers or clients. The goal is to ensure that businesses are operating within legal boundaries and not dealing with fraudsters or bad actors.
KYC checks are absolutely mandatory for any financial institution or business that offers their customers financial services of any kind. It is only after the customer fulfills all minimum KYC criteria that a bank can open a new account or continue to do business with them.
Why is KYC Important?
KYC processes are vital for financial institutions to protect themselves from financial crimes and non-compliance. An effective KYC system helps businesses understand their clients and prevents potential fraud, money laundering, or other risks.
How Does KYC Verification Handle?
Today, KYC verification is typically handled by a third-party provider. Third-party providers are specialized in customer due diligence technology and services which enable them to quickly and accurately verify customer identities.
What is a KYC Provider?
A KYC provider is a third-party service that helps companies verify customers’ identities and assess associated risks. The provider typically offers software and services to help businesses streamline their customer onboarding process and ensure compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) laws. They may also provide additional services such as fraud detection, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and more.
5 Best KYC Providers for 2023
- Sumsub
Sumsub helps companies with real-time onboarding, KYC, and AML compliance. The service is designed to reduce manual labor by enabling AI-powered automated verification of customer identity documents, helping to detect suspicious activities and meet regulatory requirements without sacrificing customer experience.
The system is extremely comprehensive and can process more than 6,500 document types from more than 220 countries. Additionally, it uses proprietary and patented technologies to detect the presence of a real person on the customer’s side rather than relying on records or masks.
- Shufti Pro
Shufti Pro is a global KYC provider that offers an advanced Artificial Intelligence-driven KYC and AML screening platform. It is one of the only providers in the industry to offer ID and Identity verification services across all languages and countries. Their state-of-the-art technology allows verifications to be completed in just 60 seconds, ensuring accurate and efficient processing of customer data.
Shufti Pro’s services provide customers with a comprehensive AML screening that covers over 1000 global watch lists, PEPs, and sanctions lists. This allows them to stay compliant with the latest regulatory requirements while maintaining an efficient workflow. Additionally, their omnichannel support makes it easy for customers to use their services from any device.
The only downside of Shufti Pro is that their AML screening is limited to screening only and does not provide any risk assessment approach.
- Seon
Seon is a KYC provider that makes it easier and more cost-effective for companies to weed out fraudulent users before they even reach the KYC stage. It does this by providing insightful data points thanks to its reverse phone lookup, email analysis, device fingerprinting, and digital profiling lookup tools. This data is then fed through a powerful risk-scoring engine to give users a fraud score with clear explanations. This allows companies to save time and money by immediately filtering out bad actors.
Seon also offers a fast, frictionless API and transparent SaaS pricing model. However, it does not provide document check or biometric authentication capabilities, nor does it have AML or PEP checks for compliance purposes. Nevertheless, Seon is a great KYC tool for quickly and accurately pre-screening fraudulent users.
- Trulioo
Trulioo is an industry-leading identity verification provider, offering a range of services to support the quick and efficient onboarding of customers. Trulioo stands out from its competitors thanks to its real-time business verification feature, enabling businesses to quickly verify their customer’s data and complex risk management needs in one go. Furthermore, Trulioo has a strong reputation as an industry-preferred provider due to its extensive database of mobile network operators (MNOs) providing reliable data gathering.
However, there are some drawbacks to using Trulioo. Customer support can be limited, and the scope of AML measure checks is relatively low, while document verification checks are quite basic. Despite this, Trulioo still offers an easy-to-use solution for businesses looking to quickly verify customers online, making it a popular choice among many.
- Ondato
Ondato’s KYC solution is designed to help businesses simplify and streamline their compliance processes. It provides a suite of tools that enable organizations to verify over 10,000 different types of documents in just 60 seconds. This automated process helps protect the safety of both individuals and organizations while also boosting the customer experience.
Ondato’s KYC solution is available in 192 countries. Its suite of tools includes identity verification, business onboarding, customer data platform, due diligence, authentication, and virtual branch.
Benefits of Utilizing a KYC Provider for Businesses
There are plenty of benefits for businesses that choose to utilize a KYC provider. With a reliable KYC provider, you can:
- Streamline and simplify compliance processes, saving time and money.
- Quickly verify customer data with accuracy and efficiency.
- Stay compliant with the latest regulatory requirements.
- Reduce fraud risks by filtering out bad actors quickly and accurately.
- Easily access global watch lists and databases.
- Improve customer experience by offering a fast, frictionless onboarding process.
- Receive real-time alert notifications when suspicious activity is detected.
Final Thoughts
KYC providers can be a valuable asset for businesses that want to simplify and streamline their compliance processes. Ultimately, using a KYC provider will help you save time and money, reduce fraud risks, and protect the safety of both your company and your customers.
