Glossary

What adverse media screening is, what sources to monitor, and how negative news affects KYB decisions.

What Anti-Money Laundering means, the regulatory framework, and how AML compliance programs work.

What the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives are and how they shape European KYB and beneficial ownership requirements.

Understand auto-verification—the process of verifying businesses instantly through automated data checks, enabling fast onboarding without human review.

What beneficial ownership means, how it differs from legal ownership, and why it matters for KYB and AML.

What Beneficial Ownership Information means under the Corporate Transparency Act and how it's changing US corporate transparency.

What the Bank Secrecy Act is, its reporting requirements, and how BSA shapes US anti-money laundering compliance.

Learn how business graphs represent companies as interconnected nodes—brands, entities, locations, and people—linked by ownership and operational relationships.

Understand the three dimensions of business identity—brand, legal entity, and location—and why connecting them matters for verification.

What business registries are, how they work across jurisdictions, and their role in KYB verification.

What the CBDDQ is, who uses it, and how standardized questionnaires streamline correspondent banking KYB.

What Customer Due Diligence means, the four pillars of the FinCEN CDD Rule, and how CDD applies to business verification.

What Combating the Financing of Terrorism means and how CFT requirements complement AML programs.

What Customer Identification Program means and how CIP requirements form the foundation of identity verification.

What correspondent banking is, its AML risks, and due diligence requirements for correspondent relationships.

What the Corporate Transparency Act is and how it requires beneficial ownership reporting to FinCEN.

What a Currency Transaction Report is, when it's required, and how CTRs relate to cash-intensive businesses.

Understand data enrichment—the process of supplementing business data with additional sources to create a more complete picture for verification.

What Enhanced Due Diligence means, when it's required, and what additional measures EDD involves for high-risk relationships.

Learn how entity resolution matches and links business records across data sources to create unified, verified business identities.

What entity verification means in KYB, what data points to verify, and how verification differs from identity proofing.

What FATF is, its 40 Recommendations, and how FATF shapes global anti-money laundering standards.

What FinCEN is, its role in AML enforcement, and how it administers the Corporate Transparency Act's beneficial ownership database.

Learn about formation agents—services that incorporate companies at scale—and how their presence factors into shell company detection.

Understand ground truth in business data—verified, authoritative information from primary sources rather than estimates or models.

What Know Your Business means and how KYB verification works for business customer onboarding.

What Know Your Customer means, how it differs from KYB, and why individual identity verification is foundational to compliance programs.

Understand legal entities—the formal business structures registered with state governments that create distinct legal identities.

Understand manual review—when human analysts must evaluate business verification cases that can't be automatically decided.

Understand micro-businesses—the smallest segment of the business population and why they present unique KYB verification challenges.

What money laundering is, the three stages of laundering, and how KYB helps prevent it.

What OFAC is, how it administers US sanctions, and what OFAC compliance means for KYB programs.

What ongoing monitoring means for KYB, what triggers reviews, and how to maintain current customer knowledge.

Understand the difference between operating locations—where businesses actually work—and registered or mailing addresses.

Understand operating status—the difference between registration status in government records and whether a business is actually conducting operations.

What Politically Exposed Person means, who qualifies as a PEP, and why PEP status triggers enhanced due diligence.

Understand registered agents—who they are, why businesses use them, and what their presence reveals about entity structures.

What a reporting company is under the Corporate Transparency Act and which entities must file beneficial ownership reports.

What the risk-based approach means in AML/KYB, how to apply proportionate due diligence, and regulatory expectations.

What sanctions screening is, which lists to check, and how sanctions compliance applies to KYB verification.

What a Suspicious Activity Report is, when to file one, and how SARs relate to KYB compliance.

What Simplified Due Diligence means and when reduced verification requirements apply to lower-risk customers.

What the SDN List is, who's on it, and why SDN screening is critical for KYB compliance.

Learn about Secretary of State offices as the authoritative source for business entity filings, registration status, and corporate records in the US.

What a shell company is, legitimate vs. illicit uses, and why shell companies present KYB challenges.

Understand sole proprietorships—businesses where there's no legal separation between owner and business, and the unique KYB challenges they present.

What straight-through processing means in KYB, how automation enables STP, and when manual review is still needed.

Understand trade names (DBAs)—the operating names businesses use with customers, and how they differ from legal entity names.

What Ultimate Beneficial Owner means, ownership thresholds, and why identifying the natural persons behind businesses is central to KYB compliance.

What watchlist screening is, which lists matter beyond sanctions, and how to handle matches.