KYB Verification Overview

What is KYB?

KYB, or "Know Your Business," is a legal requirement in the financial industry that verifies businesses' legitimacy.

It is key in preventing fraud, money laundering, and other high-risk activities, particularly in financial and corporate settings. KYB is especially important in B2B (business-to-business) relationships, ensuring companies work with trustworthy and compliant partners.

The Key Components of KYB Verification

1. Business Verification: This step confirms that the business is real and legally registered. It typically involves checking official records for details like the company’s legal name, registration number, and registered address using government databases or trusted third-party sources.

2. Understanding Business Structure: KYB also determines who owns and controls the business. This means identifying major shareholders and determining the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) to prevent financial crimes like money laundering through complex corporate setups.

3. Assessing Business Reputation: Knowing if a business has a good track record is important. This includes reviewing media coverage, legal disputes, and financial stability to spot any potential risks. As part of our commitment to security, Humi now performs continuous automated Adverse Media Screening to identify in real-time if entities or associated individuals are tied to negative news or financial crimes.

4. Compliance Checks: Businesses need to follow local and international rules, including anti-money laundering (AML) laws and sanctions. KYB ensures they’re not on any blacklists and checks for politically exposed persons (PEPs) to avoid compliance issues.

Required Documents for KYB

We would recommend that you gather all the necessary documents before you start the KYB verification process. Having everything ready before you start helps avoid delays, ensures a smoother experience, and speeds up the approval process.

To verify your business, you will need:

1. Business Information
   • Legal business name
   • Business tax identification number
   • Year of incorporation
   • Business address
   • Entity structure (Sole proprietorship, Corporation, Partnership, Co-operative)

2. Associated people :
   Signing Officers and UBOs are individuals authorized to bind the company through their signature legally. You'll need to provide their name, job title, email address, and percentage ownership.
   
    

   What's an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)?

   UBOs are individuals who hold 10% or more ownership of your business. 
   
   Each UBO must be linked to the business and complete identity verification with a photo ID and selfies. If they're also a Humi administrator, they only need to do KYC once.
   Accepted IDs for UBOs:
   Driver’s License
   Passport
   National ID

3. Pay verification documents: 
   
   You’ll need to provide one of the following documents which includes the company name, a bank institution, an account, and a branch/transit number.
   • A void cheque
   • A bank verification letter, etc.
   • A direct deposit form from your bank
4. Place and History of Business Documents:
   
   You’ll need to provide a utility bill showing your business's legal name and address exactly as they appear in Humi.
   If there’s a suite number, ensure it’s included and matches the bill before completing KYB.
5. Payor Relationship Documents: This document should detail the UBO as the signing officer or director of the company.
   
   You’ll need to provide one of the following:
   • Articles of incorporation
   • Business registration
   • Bank verification letter confirming signing authority
      

Now that you understand KYB and why it's essential for using Humi Payroll, let’s get you set up!

Click here for a step-by-step guide on completing KYB with Persona, our trusted tool for KYB/C verification.