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Choosing KYB Software: Evaluation Criteria and Build vs. Buy

February 5, 2026

How to evaluate KYB software solutions, key criteria for selection, and when to build versus buy your business verification capabilities.

Selecting the right KYB software is a consequential decision. The wrong choice creates compliance risk, operational friction, and technical debt. The right choice enables efficient onboarding, accurate risk assessment, and scalable growth.

This guide covers how to evaluate KYB solutions, the key criteria that matter, and the build-versus-buy decision that many organizations face.

The KYB Software Landscape

KYB capabilities come packaged in several ways:

Standalone KYB Platforms

Dedicated solutions focused specifically on business verification:

  • Purpose-built for KYB workflows
  • Deep functionality in entity verification, beneficial ownership, and business data
  • May require integration with other compliance tools (KYC, sanctions screening)

Compliance Suites

Broader platforms that include KYB alongside KYC, transaction monitoring, and case management:

  • Unified compliance workflow
  • Single vendor relationship
  • KYB may be less specialized than dedicated solutions

Identity Verification Platforms

Consumer identity platforms that have added business verification:

  • Strong KYC capabilities; KYB may be secondary
  • Good fit if individual verification is primary use case
  • May lack depth in business data and entity resolution

Data Providers with APIs

Raw access to business data sources without workflow or decisioning:

  • Maximum flexibility
  • Requires building your own orchestration, matching, and decisioning
  • Best for organizations with strong engineering teams and specific requirements

Key Evaluation Criteria

1. Data Coverage and Quality

The foundation of any KYB solution is its data. Evaluate:

Entity verification coverage:

  • All 50 US states and DC?
  • International jurisdictions if needed?
  • How current is Secretary of State data?
  • Real-time queries or cached/dated records?

Beneficial ownership data:

  • Access to FinCEN BOI database (when available)?
  • Commercial beneficial ownership sources?
  • Coverage for private companies?
  • International UBO registries?

Business attribute data:

Questions to ask vendors:

  • What are your primary data sources?
  • How frequently is data refreshed?
  • What's your coverage for sole proprietors and micro-businesses?
  • Can you show match rates for our customer segment?

2. Entity Resolution Quality

Matching applicant-provided information to authoritative records is where KYB solutions differentiate. Evaluate:

Matching capabilities:

  • Fuzzy name matching for variations and typos
  • Trade name / DBA resolution to legal entities
  • Address standardization and matching
  • Confidence scoring for matches

Entity resolution depth:

  • Can it connect related entities?
  • Does it handle complex corporate structures?
  • Can it identify that "Green Thumb Landscaping" is "GTL Services LLC"?

Questions to ask vendors:

  • What matching algorithms do you use?
  • How do you handle name variations and DBAs?
  • What's your false positive rate on entity matching?
  • Can you demonstrate matching on sample records from our applications?

3. Workflow and Automation

KYB software should enable efficient processes, not just provide data. Evaluate:

Orchestration:

  • Can you configure verification sequences?
  • Does it run checks in parallel for speed?
  • Can you customize which verifications run based on risk/segment?

Decisioning:

  • Rule engine for automated decisions?
  • Risk scoring models?
  • Configurable thresholds for auto-verification?

Exception handling:

  • Workflow for manual review cases?
  • Queue management and assignment?
  • Document collection capabilities?
  • Case management for EDD?

Questions to ask vendors:

  • What STP rate do customers typically achieve?
  • How configurable are decision rules?
  • What does the manual review workflow look like?
  • Can we adjust rules without engineering involvement?

4. Screening and Monitoring

KYB extends beyond initial verification. Evaluate:

Screening capabilities:

Ongoing monitoring:

  • Continuous screening as lists update?
  • Periodic re-verification of business status?
  • Alerts for material changes?
  • Batch monitoring for existing customer portfolio?

Questions to ask vendors:

  • How frequently are screening lists updated?
  • What's included in screening versus add-on cost?
  • How does ongoing monitoring work?
  • What alerting capabilities exist?

5. Integration and Developer Experience

KYB software must integrate with your systems. Evaluate:

API quality:

  • RESTful APIs with clear documentation?
  • SDKs for common languages?
  • Sandbox environment for testing?
  • Webhook support for async workflows?

Integration flexibility:

  • Can it fit your existing onboarding flow?
  • White-label/embedded UI options?
  • Headless/API-only option?
  • Single API call or multiple endpoints?

Data export:

  • Can you access raw verification results?
  • Audit log exports for compliance?
  • Integration with data warehouses?

Questions to ask vendors:

  • Can we see API documentation before purchasing?
  • What's the typical integration timeline?
  • Do you support our tech stack?
  • What does the sandbox environment include?

6. Compliance and Security

KYB involves sensitive data. Evaluate:

Security:

  • SOC 2 Type II certification?
  • Data encryption in transit and at rest?
  • Access controls and audit logging?
  • Data residency options if required?

Compliance support:

  • Does output support regulatory requirements (BSA, CDD)?
  • Audit trail for examiner review?
  • Configurable record retention?
  • Support for compliance documentation?

Questions to ask vendors:

  • What security certifications do you have?
  • Where is data stored and processed?
  • How long is data retained?
  • Can we get sample output for compliance review?

7. Pricing and Total Cost

Understand the full cost picture. Evaluate:

Pricing model:

  • Per verification, per application, or subscription?
  • What's included versus add-on?
  • Volume discounts?
  • Minimum commitments?

Hidden costs:

  • Implementation/onboarding fees?
  • Premium data sources extra?
  • Screening charged separately?
  • Support tiers?

Total cost of ownership:

  • Integration development time
  • Ongoing maintenance
  • Internal operations to manage exceptions
  • Cost of false positives (lost customers)
  • Cost of false negatives (risk events)

Questions to ask vendors:

  • Can you provide pricing for our expected volume?
  • What's included in base pricing versus add-ons?
  • Are there minimum commitments or term requirements?
  • What does implementation support include?

Build vs. Buy

When to Buy

Buy KYB software when:

  • Speed to market matters: Building KYB capabilities takes 6-12+ months; buying can be weeks
  • KYB isn't your core competency: Focus engineering on your product, not compliance infrastructure
  • You lack specialized data relationships: Data providers often have preferential terms with KYB platforms
  • Regulatory expectations are high: Established solutions have compliance track records
  • Volume doesn't justify investment: Building makes sense at scale; buying makes sense earlier

When to Build

Build KYB capabilities when:

  • Unique requirements exist: Your use case doesn't fit standard workflows
  • Data is your moat: You have proprietary data sources that create competitive advantage
  • Scale justifies investment: At very high volume, per-transaction fees exceed build/maintain costs
  • Deep customization needed: You need control over matching algorithms, decisioning logic, or data models
  • Strong engineering team exists: You have the talent to build and maintain complex data systems

Hybrid Approaches

Many organizations combine buying and building:

  • Buy data, build workflow: Use data APIs but build your own orchestration and decisioning
  • Buy core, build edges: Use a platform for standard cases; build custom handling for unique segments
  • Buy now, build later: Start with a purchased solution; migrate to built solution as you scale and learn

Evaluation Process

Step 1: Define Requirements

Before evaluating vendors, document:

  • Use cases: What types of businesses do you verify? What segments?
  • Volume: Current and projected verification volume
  • Speed requirements: What decision time do customers expect?
  • Compliance requirements: Which regulations apply? What documentation is needed?
  • Integration requirements: What systems must KYB connect to?
  • Must-haves vs. nice-to-haves: Prioritize requirements

Step 2: Create Shortlist

Based on requirements, identify 3-5 solutions to evaluate:

  • Industry analyst reports
  • Peer recommendations
  • Vendor landscape research
  • RFI responses

Step 3: Structured Evaluation

For each shortlisted solution:

  • Demo with your use cases: Don't accept generic demos; provide realistic scenarios
  • API/technical review: Have engineers evaluate documentation and sandbox
  • Reference calls: Talk to customers with similar use cases
  • Proof of concept: If possible, test with real (anonymized) application data
  • Security/compliance review: Validate certifications and practices

Step 4: Scoring and Selection

Create a weighted scorecard based on your prioritized criteria:

Data coverage

  • Weight: 25%
  • Vendor A:
  • Vendor B:
  • Vendor C:

Entity resolution

  • Weight: 20%
  • Vendor A:
  • Vendor B:
  • Vendor C:

Workflow/automation

  • Weight: 15%
  • Vendor A:
  • Vendor B:
  • Vendor C:

Integration

  • Weight: 15%
  • Vendor A:
  • Vendor B:
  • Vendor C:

Screening

  • Weight: 10%
  • Vendor A:
  • Vendor B:
  • Vendor C:

Compliance/security

  • Weight: 10%
  • Vendor A:
  • Vendor B:
  • Vendor C:

Pricing

  • Weight: 5%
  • Vendor A:
  • Vendor B:
  • Vendor C:

Don't let pricing dominate—the cheapest solution that doesn't meet requirements is expensive.

Step 5: Negotiate and Contract

Once you've selected a solution:

  • Negotiate pricing based on volume commitments
  • Clarify SLAs for uptime, support response, data freshness
  • Understand contract terms (length, termination, price increases)
  • Define success criteria for implementation
  • Plan for migration if switching from an existing solution

Key Takeaways

  • Data quality is foundational—no amount of good workflow compensates for bad data
  • Entity resolution differentiates solutions—test matching on your actual application data
  • Evaluate total cost, not just price—integration effort, operations cost, and error rates matter
  • Buy for speed, build for control—most organizations should buy initially
  • Test before committing—POCs with real data reveal issues demos don't
  • Plan for growth—choose a solution that scales with your business

The right KYB software is the one that meets your specific requirements, integrates with your systems, and scales with your growth—not necessarily the one with the longest feature list or lowest price.

Related: KYB Automation | KYB Onboarding | What is KYB?