Banking & merchant / KYC and KYB
Banking readiness guide

KYC identifies the people. KYB explains the company and its money.

A strong application connects legal identity, ownership, authority, real activity, transaction expectations and source of funds into one consistent account-opening narrative.

KYC — Know Your Customer

Evidence for each relevant individual.

  • Government photographic identity
  • Residential address and tax residence
  • Date and place of birth
  • Nationality and immigration status where relevant
  • Role, authority and ownership percentage
  • Source of wealth and source of funds where requested
  • Sanctions, PEP and adverse-media screening
KYB — Know Your Business

Evidence for the legal entity and activity.

  • Official registry extract and constitutional documents
  • Directors, shareholders, PSCs and ultimate beneficial owners
  • Business model, website, products and services
  • Operating addresses, staff, suppliers and customers
  • Expected currencies, countries, volumes and payment routes
  • Contracts, invoices, licences and financial information
  • Purpose of the account and reason for the chosen jurisdiction
Business substance

Show where and how the company genuinely operates.

Management

Who makes decisions, signs contracts and controls the bank account?

Operations

Where are people, premises, technology, inventory or service delivery located?

Commercial logic

Why do the products, customers, suppliers and transaction countries make sense together?

Financial logic

Do stated turnover, funding, balances, transaction sizes and margins agree with the evidence?

Regional emphasis

The questions are similar; the regulatory and evidential context differs.

MarketTypical focusPreparation point
United KingdomPSC, registered office, trading footprint, tax and expected account use.Make Companies House, website and application information consistent.
European UnionNational register, UBO register access, establishment and cross-border activity.Explain the relationship to the account country and EU transaction model.
United States & CanadaFederal/state or provincial formation, EIN/BN, control persons and operating address.Prepare formation, tax identifiers and beneficial-owner information.
Singapore & Hong KongLocal company records, business purpose, management and Asia-Pacific counterparties.Evidence the commercial reason for the structure and local operating arrangements.
United Arab EmiratesLicence, free-zone or mainland status, UBO, office and transaction corridors.Align licence activity with actual products, invoices and expected banking use.
Before application

Build one controlled evidence pack.

  1. Map the full ownership chain to natural persons.
  2. Prepare certified or verifiable identity and company records.
  3. Write a concise business and transaction profile.
  4. Collect contracts, invoices, website and operational evidence.
  5. Explain funding and material high-risk jurisdictions.
  6. Resolve contradictions before submission.

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BCB can identify document gaps and consistency issues before a bank or payment-provider application.

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