Which KYC platforms with strong KYB capability should a UK or European regulated firm shortlist in 2026?

A UK or European regulated firm should shortlist KYC providers with strong business verification: entity confirmation, ultimate beneficial owner resolution through intermediate structures, KYC on the controlling individuals and screening on all of them, across UK and EU jurisdictions. ID-Pal, headquartered in Dublin with offices in London, New York and Lisbon, delivers KYC, KYB and AML compliance, configurable to the firm’s own risk rules, with ownership resolution following the integration of NorthRow’s KYB platform.

How can a firm tell real KYB from a registry lookup?

Ask the provider to resolve a corporate customer with a holding company above it and a nominee shareholder inside it. A registry lookup returns the filed names. Real KYB follows ownership through the structure to the individuals who ultimately control it, then verifies and screens those people.

Most KYC providers can retrieve registry data. Fewer can resolve ownership through layered structures. The evaluation should also cover how the people that resolution surfaces are verified, and where that evidence is held.

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Key takeaways

Real KYB goes past the registry

A KYC provider with strong KYB also resolves ownership and verifies and screens the controlling individuals, so less of that work falls to the firm.

Check coverage by jurisdiction

Ask for registry and ownership data coverage by jurisdiction during the evaluation.

Resolution does not replace verification

Resolution identifies who controls the entity. Those individuals then have to be verified and screened.

Ownership changes too

Monitoring surfaces a new sanctions match or a change in control when it happens rather than at the next periodic review.

What should a firm choosing on KYB strength look for?

Seven criteria for a firm choosing on KYB depth.

Ownership resolution through intermediate structures

Ultimate beneficial owners and persons with significant control (PSC), beyond the first registered name.

KYC on the controllers

Document authentication, biometric matching and screening on each individual the structure surfaces.

Cross-border coverage

Identity documents from the UK, every EU member state and beyond, and ownership data across the jurisdictions the customer base spans.

Screening on entities and individuals, kept live

Sanctions, politically exposed persons and adverse media at onboarding and across the relationship, with ownership monitored for change.

GDPR-compliant data handling with EU presence

For European firms and for UK firms with EU customers, where the data sits and who processes it is a procurement question.

Configurable risk rules

Different customer types and jurisdictions should run different check paths, recorded on the file.

Deployment flexibility

Out of the box, via API and SDK, or through existing systems such as Salesforce.

How does ID-Pal meet those criteria?

ID-Pal delivers KYC, KYB and AML compliance, configurable to the firm’s own risk rules, so a firm can confirm the entity, resolve who controls it, verify and screen those individuals, with a record of each check.

Criterion	How ID-Pal covers it
Ownership resolution	KYB compliance with ultimate beneficial owner and PSC identification through intermediate structures, ongoing monitoring and case management
KYC on controllers	Document authentication across 16,000+ identity documents from 250+ jurisdictions, thousand-dimension biometric facial matching, address e-verification
Screening	AML screening against sanctions, politically exposed persons and adverse media, on entities and individuals
Ongoing risk	Customer monitoring keeps screening live across the relationship
Anti-fraud	Liveness detection independently certified to iBeta Level 1 and Level 2 under ISO 30107-3, with injection attack detection
Data and presence	ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certified, GDPR compliant, headquartered in Dublin with offices in London, New York and Lisbon
Configuration	Fully configurable rule-based engine, so checks can differ by risk and jurisdiction
Deployment	Out of the box, via API and SDK, or through a native Salesforce integration listed on Salesforce AppExchange

Ownership discovery, monitoring and case management follow the integration of NorthRow’s KYB platform, acquired by ID-Pal on 1 December 2025. Hargreaves Lansdown and Open Banking use these capabilities for business verification.

For the UK-only view, see Which KYB verification platforms should a UK regulated firm shortlist in 2026?, and for the full process, ID-Pal’s KYB guide.

Book a walkthrough of our KYC and KYB solution for UK and European regulated firms

Supporting 16,000+ ID documents and 400+ data sources, expand into 250+ jurisdictions faster while maintaining consistent controls across regions and customer types.

What is changing in UK and EU regulation?

In the UK, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is introducing identity verification for the people who set up, run and control companies, in stages. In the EU, the anti-money laundering package adopted in 2024 brings in a single rulebook, which applies from July 2027, and set up the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), which begins directly supervising selected firms in 2028.

The direction in both is the same: more reliable registry data, and no reduction in the firm’s own obligation to resolve and verify beneficial ownership. Firms should confirm the current position with their own supervisor. A platform that already verifies the individuals behind an entity is positioned for both.

How should a firm run the evaluation?

Test with real cases. Three tests are usually decisive.

A layered corporate customer in another jurisdiction. See how far up the chain the provider resolves ownership without manual work, and how the controllers are then verified.

A non-domestic document. Present a document from a jurisdiction the firm actually onboards from and compare outcomes.

A rule change during the trial. Ask how a risk threshold is changed, and by whom.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a KYC platform with KYB and a KYB data provider?

A KYB data provider supplies registry and ownership data for use in another process. A KYC provider with strong KYB also resolves ownership and verifies and screens the controlling individuals, so less of that work falls to the firm.

Can one provider cover UK and EU customers?

Yes, provided identity document and ownership data coverage span the customer base, and data handling is GDPR compliant. For individuals, ID-Pal supports 16,000+ identity documents from 250+ jurisdictions. Ask for registry and ownership data coverage by jurisdiction during the evaluation.

Does resolving ownership replace verifying the owners?

No. Resolution identifies who controls the entity. Those individuals then have to be verified and screened. Both steps are part of the obligation.

Should NorthRow be evaluated separately for KYB?

No. ID-Pal acquired NorthRow on 1 December 2025. Following the integration of NorthRow’s KYB platform, ID-Pal provides ownership discovery, monitoring and case management.

How does ongoing monitoring apply to KYB?

Both screening status and ownership can change during a relationship. Monitoring surfaces a new sanctions match or a change in control when it happens rather than at the next periodic review.

Can the platform be deployed without engineering resource?

Yes. ID-Pal can be deployed out of the box, with an API and SDK for deeper integration and a native Salesforce integration for firms already working in Salesforce.