KYC (Know Your Customer)

KYC (Know Your Customer) refers to the set of identity-verification procedures a company applies to its customers before entering into a business relationship. Historically imposed on banks by anti-money-laundering directives, KYC has extended to high-stakes electronic signature operations: account opening, credit, insurance and notarial deeds. Three pillars: identity-document verification (OCR plus fraud detection on the security features of an ID card or passport), liveness check (proof that the person is real and physically present, not a photo or deepfake), and information cross-checking against authoritative databases. Link with the signature level: the more sensitive the act, the stronger the KYC — a simple signature may need none, whereas the eIDAS regulation requires a face-to-face or equivalent remote identity proofing (video KYC) before issuing the certificate behind a qualified signature (QES). KYC vs AML: KYC is the onboarding step; ongoing transaction monitoring (AML) continues throughout the relationship. Why it matters: a robust KYC is what lets a remote signature carry the same legal weight as a signature witnessed in person, by tying the signing key to a verified human.