KYC (Know Your Customer)
KYC (Know Your Customer) is the process of verifying the identity of users before allowing them to access financial services — required by regulators to prevent fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing.
In depth
KYC typically involves collecting: full legal name, date of birth, address, government-issued ID (passport, driver's license), and sometimes a selfie for liveness verification.
KYC providers for startups: - Stripe Identity: simplest if you already use Stripe ($1.50/verification) - Persona: more customizable flows, used by many fintechs - Jumio: enterprise-grade, higher cost - Onfido: strong document verification
When you need KYC: - Any app that moves money (payments, lending, crypto on-ramp) - Marketplace with seller payouts (Stripe Connect requires seller KYC) - Banking-as-a-service integrations
When you don't: SaaS without payments, content apps, most B2B tools.
Real example
A peer-to-peer lending app must verify every borrower and lender's identity before enabling transactions. Stripe Identity handles document upload, selfie matching, and returns a verified/failed result via API.
Tools & calculators
Related terms
Stripe Connect
Stripe Connect is Stripe's API for marketplaces and platforms that need to move money between multiple parties — enabling split payments, seller payouts, and platform fees.
PCI DSS
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of security requirements for any organization that stores, processes, or transmits credit card data — non-compliance can result in fines and loss of payment processing ability.
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