Know Your Customer (KYC)
Also called: KYC, customer due diligence, identity verification
KYC is the obligation to verify who a customer is, understand their expected activity, and keep that knowledge current. It's the foundation of anti-money-laundering control and the reason account opening asks questions that feel intrusive. Enhanced due diligence applies to higher-risk customers, including politically exposed persons, whose accounts must be monitored more closely rather than refused outright.