KYC means Know Your Customer and sometimes Know Your Client. KYC or KYC check is the mandatory process of identifying and verifying the identity of the client when opening an account and periodically over time. In other words, banks must make sure that their clients are genuinely who they claim to be. Banks may refuse to open an account or halt business relationship if the client fails to meet minimum KYC requirements. 

KYC (Know Your Customer) is today a significant element in the fight against financial crime and money laundering and customer identification is the most critical aspect as it is the first step to better perform in the other stages of the process.

The global anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) landscape raise tremendous stakes for financial institutions. 

International regulations influenced by standards like The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are now implemented in national laws encompassing strong directives like AML 4 and 5, and preventive measures like "KYC" for client identification.

Let's start with a definition of KYC and eKYC, and discover how advanced ID verification systems can better support KYC processes.