KYB (Know Your Business) verification is the process of confirming that a business customer is a real, legally registered company - and identifying the people who control it. It covers legal existence, registered address, directors, ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) and screening against sanctions and PEP lists. It's a regulatory requirement for most fintech, payments, lending and regulated B2B services.
Automate Know Your Business checks in 200+ countries
KYB API - Business Verification & Know Your Business Checks
Verify business customers, suppliers and counterparties in real-time against 365M+ company records. Run KYB (Know Your Business) onboarding, UBO lookup and sanctions screening with a single API call.
365M+ companies, 200+ countries
Registration, directors & UBO data
Real-time responses (<200ms)
What Is a KYB API?
A KYB (Know Your Business) API lets you automatically verify the identity, legitimacy and ownership of a company - without manual registry lookups or paperwork.
KYB (Know Your Business) is the business counterpart to KYC. Where KYC verifies individuals, KYB verifies the company itself: its legal existence, registration status, registered address, directors, and ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs). Regulated industries - fintech, payments, lending, crypto, B2B marketplaces - are required to run KYB checks on every business customer they onboard.
Doing this manually means chasing documents, querying government registries one by one, and cross-referencing sanctions lists. A KYB API replaces all of that with a single request. Submit a company name, registration number, or domain - get back verified entity data, ownership structure and risk signals. Teams using automated KYB typically cut onboarding time by 90%+ and compliance cost by 70---85%.
How It Works - Live Example
See the KYB API in action. Search for any business and get verified entity data in real-time.
KYB API Use Cases
Fintech & Payment Onboarding
Verify business merchants and account holders. Check registration, legal form and UBOs during signup to meet AML and PSP requirements.
B2B Marketplaces
Validate sellers, suppliers and partners before activation. Screen counterparties against sanctions and PEP lists automatically.
Lending & Credit
Confirm borrower legitimacy, extract financial signals and check beneficial ownership before underwriting business loans.
Crypto & Regulated SaaS
Run KYB on corporate accounts, flag shell companies, and document your due diligence for auditors and regulators.
KYB vs KYC - What's the Difference?
KYC (Know Your Customer) verifies the identity of an individual - typically using ID documents, biometrics and PEP/sanctions screening. KYB (Know Your Business) verifies the identity of a company - its registration, legal status, directors and ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs).
Most regulated B2B flows need both. You onboard a company (KYB), and you also verify the humans who control it (KYC on directors and UBOs). CompanyData's API is built for this dual flow: one endpoint returns the full company record plus directors and UBOs, so you can fan out KYC checks on the right people without a second integration.
What Gets Verified
Legal Entity
Registered name, trade names, registration number, legal form, incorporation date, active/dissolved status
Registered Address
Official registered office, operating address, postal code, city, country, coordinates
Directors & UBOs
Director names, roles, appointment dates, ultimate beneficial owners with ownership percentages
Financial Signals
Revenue range, employee count, credit-risk indicators and filing history where available
Industry Classification
SIC, NAICS and SBI codes, sector descriptions - for risk tiering and EDD rules
Sanctions & PEP
Screening hits against global sanctions and politically-exposed-person lists, refreshed continuously
KYB API Pricing
Transparent, credit-based pricing. Start with a free trial.
Integration & Compliance
Drop KYB into your existing onboarding stack in minutes.
REST APIJSONPython SDKJavaScriptSalesforceWebhooksZapier
Average latency <200ms. GDPR compliant with transparent data sourcing - every field carries a source registry reference that auditors can verify. Full documentation at docs.companydata.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
A KYB API is a programming interface that runs Know Your Business checks automatically. Instead of manually querying each country's company registry, your application sends a single request with a company name or registration number, and the API returns verified entity data - registration, directors, UBOs and risk signals - in under 200ms.
KYC (Know Your Customer) verifies individuals - typically with ID documents and biometrics. KYB (Know Your Business) verifies companies - their legal registration, directors and UBOs. Most regulated B2B onboarding needs both: you KYB the company, then KYC the humans who own or control it.
CompanyData's KYB API returns the legal entity record (name, registration number, legal form, status), registered and operating addresses, directors with roles and appointment dates, ultimate beneficial owners with ownership percentages, industry classification codes, financial signals, and sanctions/PEP screening results.
The right KYB provider depends on coverage and use case. CompanyData offers the broadest global coverage (365M+ companies in 200+ countries) with UBOs, transparent sourcing and developer-friendly pricing. Competitors like Moody's/Kompany, Middesk, Persona, Trulioo and Sumsub focus more narrowly on regulated fintech or specific regions. CompanyData is strongest when you need global coverage and enriched business data, not just compliance flags.
CompanyData uses credit-based pricing starting at $29.99/month. A KYB company verification typically costs 1---3 credits depending on depth (entity only vs. entity + UBOs + screening). A free trial with 10 credits is available. Volume discounts apply at higher tiers.
CompanyData offers a free trial with 10 credits that covers the full KYB endpoint - entity lookup, directors and UBOs. After the trial, paid plans start at $29.99/month.
CompanyData's KYB API is a standard REST API with JSON responses. Integration takes minutes: sign up for an API key, send a POST request to the verification endpoint with a company name or registration number, and parse the JSON. SDKs for Python and JavaScript are available. Full documentation at docs.companydata.com.
Yes. The KYB response includes directors and - where the jurisdiction maintains a UBO register - ultimate beneficial owners with ownership percentages. You can use this to fan out KYC checks on the relevant individuals without a second integration.
CompanyData is GDPR compliant with transparent data sourcing from official registries and verified partners. The API supports KYB requirements under AMLD5/6, FinCEN CDD, FATF recommendations and similar AML frameworks. Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) are available on request.