Beneficial Owners of a Trust: Who Counts and What to Collect
The beneficial owners of a trust are all of its parties: the settlor, trustee, protector, beneficiaries and anyone else with ultimate effective control. There is no 25% threshold.
Know Your Business (KYB)
How to Calculate Beneficial Ownership: Worked Examples
To find the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of a company, trace every chain of ownership up to the natural persons at the top. For indirect holdings, the usual method is to multiply the percentages along each chain and add the results where one person holds through more than one route. Compare the total with the local threshold: more than 25% in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore, 25% or more under the US CDD Rule and the EU AML Regulation, and at least 20% under the Philippine SEC’s rules from 2026.
What Is KYB? Know Your Business Verification Explained
KYB (Know Your Business) is the due diligence a regulated firm carries out on a business customer. It means verifying that the company exists and is legitimately registered, understanding what it does and how it is owned and controlled, identifying and verifying its ultimate beneficial owners (the…
KYC Onboarding Automation: How to Reduce Drop-Off Rates
KYC drop-off is one of the most significant and least-discussed costs in financial services. Firms lose nearly half their prospective customers at the compliance gate — before a single revenue-generating relationship has begun.
Manual vs Automated KYC: Why Financial Firms Are Switching
Manual KYC takes up to 14 days per customer, costs £200 per onboarding, and introduces inconsistency at every step. Automated KYC completes the same process in minutes, at a fraction of the cost, with a fully auditable record.
The 5 Stages of Money Laundering Compliance Officers Must Know
The traditional three-stage model — placement, layering, integration — is necessary but insufficient. Compliance officers must also understand the predicate offence and the concealment mechanisms operating throughout the entire laundering process…
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) vs Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): When to Use Each
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) vs Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): When to Use Each
CDD and EDD are not alternatives — they sit on a spectrum of due diligence intensity, with the appropriate level determined by the assessed risk of the customer and the business relationship.
PEP Screening Explained: What Compliance Teams Need to Know
A Politically Exposed Person holds a prominent public role that raises their money laundering risk and triggers Enhanced Due Diligence. Learn who qualifies, what FCA and FATF regulations require, and how automated PEP screening works in practice.
KYC vs KYB: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
KYC verifies individual customers while KYB verifies corporate entities, directors, and ultimate beneficial owners — two distinct processes with different regulatory requirements. Understanding the difference is fundamental to building a compliant onboarding programme that satisfies FCA, FinCEN, and FATF obligations.
