KYC / AML (Know Your Customer / Anti-Money Laundering)

Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) are overlapping regulatory frameworks that require banks, payment processors, and other financial institutions to verify who their customers are and monitor their activity for suspicious patterns. KYC involves collecting and verifying identity documents, addresses, and beneficial ownership information at onboarding. AML involves ongoing transaction monitoring, reporting of suspicious activity, and screening against sanctions lists.

For consumers, KYC explains why banks ask for ID documents when opening accounts, why transfers to certain countries trigger questions, and why large cash transactions require explanation. Legitimate financial institutions will always ask for KYC documentation — this is a legal requirement, not a scam.

Fraudsters impersonate compliance teams to collect identity documents under the guise of 'KYC verification', then use the documents for identity theft or account opening fraud. Always verify that a KYC request comes through the official app or website of your financial institution, never via email links or phone calls.