KYC (Know Your Customer)

KYC (Know Your Customer) is the identity-verification process a bank, payout platform or contractor-payments provider runs before it lets you send or receive money. It confirms who the customer is — and, for a business, who ultimately owns it — to satisfy anti-money-laundering (AML) regulation. On a contractor-payments platform, both the paying company and the contractor receiving funds usually pass KYC before the first payout clears.

What KYC checks

• Identity — government ID (passport, national ID, driver’s licence) and often a selfie/liveness check.
• Proof of address — a recent utility bill or bank statement.
• Business details — for companies: registration documents and beneficial-owner (UBO) verification.
• Screening — the name is checked against sanctions and politically-exposed-person lists.

KYC vs AML vs KYT

• KYC verifies identity at onboarding.
• AML is the wider legal framework KYC sits inside.
• KYT (Know Your Transaction) monitors transactions on an ongoing basis — common on crypto-enabled platforms.

Why it matters for getting paid

KYC is why a payout can be held on first use: an incomplete or mismatched verification blocks the money until it’s resolved. Practical tips — use a name that matches your ID and bank account exactly, have proof of address ready, and expect extra steps for crypto payouts. A US payer’s tax paperwork (the W-8BEN) is separate from the platform’s KYC; you’ll typically do both.