For years, “KYC” (Know Your Customer) lived in the world of banks, regulated financial institutions and specialist compliance teams. If you weren’t a bank, you could largely ignore it.

That’s over.

Today, more and more non-financial companies are being pulled into the KYC universe – not because regulators suddenly love them, but because risk has started to flow through supply chains, platforms and ecosystems in new ways.

This shift is quiet, but it’s big. And most businesses are not prepared for it.

If you ask corporate treasurers, relationship managers or KYC analysts how KYC feels today, you’ll hear a consistent mix of words:

“Slow. Confusing. Repetitive. Risky. Necessary – but painful.”

KYC isn’t going away. But the way we manage it can absolutely change. At the centre of that change is something surprisingly simple: a collaboration layer.

Most companies experience KYC as a series of one-off events:

• A big form for a new bank relationship.

• Another form for a new PSP.

• A KYC pack for a law firm or corporate services provider.

• Periodic reviews and event-driven updates, all starting from some version of the beginning.

Each event feels disconnected, even though the underlying company hasn’t changed very much.