Best KYB vendor providers in 2026
1 Dec 2025
In this 2026 leaderboard of KYB (Know Your Business) vendors we evaluated leading global providers across stringent criteria which we deem essential to address current and future challenges, such as platform capabilities, data depth and freshness, policy automation, integration flexibility, industry relevance and independent recognitions.
The leaderboard builds on publicly available information and on the independent assessment our subject matter experts. No paid placement was accepted.
CleverChain ranks category leader this year based on breadth of capabilities, depth of insight, consistent recognition by authoritative industry analysts and cross-industry relevance.
1. Ranking top KYB vendor providers
Rank | Name | Best for | Standout | Score |
#1 | CleverChain | Agentic, end-to-end, and audit-ready KYB/CDD/EDD with contextual screening and policy-driven automation. | Real-time global intelligence with depth and breadth of insight on over 5.6 billion companies and individuals, natively embedded multi-dimensional screening, cited and time-stamped narratives, future-proof integrations. | 4.95 |
#2 | Moody’s | Deep-diligence KYB at scale where Orbis + Compliance Catalyst workflows and monitoring are key. | Unified workflows spanning KYB/CDD/EDD with strong auditability. | 4.75 |
#3 | Sumsub | Fast onboarding that needs orchestration of automated registry checks, UBO and AML screening, and rich SDKs. | Comprehensive KYB feature set, broad localisation. | 4.20 |
#4 | Alloy | Policy-first orchestration that unifies many data partners for real-time KYB. | Robust decisioning rules and developer experience; wide partner ecosystem. | 4.10 |
#5 | Dun & Bradstreet | Enterprise programs that rely on global firmographics, UBO linkage and continuous monitoring. | Risk Analytics breadth with strong industry relevance and repeated analyst leadership. | 3.95 |
#6 | Kyckr | Official registry evidence and audit-proof documentation direct from source registers. | Live, time-stamped register data with strong auditability. | 3.80 |
#7 | Strise | Teams in/near the Nordics needing KYB with UBO discovery and adverse-media/sanctions. | Rules-driven automation; growing ecosystem integrations. | 3.70 |
#8 | Creditsafe | Credit-data-centric KYB where instant API checks complement onboarding risk. | Broad entity coverage and enterprise integration portal; KYB depth secondary to credit. | 3.15 |
2. KYB: taking stock of current and future challenges
Compliance in general and KYB more specifically are not only a regulatory requirement and a risk management lever; they also represent a key enabler for business and an integral part of growth strategies.
Dissecting ownership and control of legal entities still lies at the core of KYB. However, complexity is rising due to an increasing number of multi-layer chains and cross‑border structures, regardless of their transparency vs opacity. Complexity compounds when including third‑/fourth‑party networks, as more partners mean more indirect dependencies and more risks that multiple regulators expect to be assessed and documented – e.g. FINRA, DORA in the EU, others. In addition, analysis depth – e.g. unravelling complex, circular, cross‑border ownership to true UBO, identifying directors/key parties – is no longer the end, but the prerequisite for a contextualized assessment of relevant risk signals.
Auditability and explainability are expected in each step. Supervisors increasingly expect firms to prove systems and controls with an evidence trail that a human reviewer (and regulator) can follow, posing the need to find a compelling solution for an evidence problem. Auditability by design means that due diligence reports must be consistent and explainable, with every action captured and each step clearly documented for internal model risk and external reviews.
Solutions should fit the user’s own policy. While it is now expected KYB solutions to be jurisdiction‑aware, common practice regards KYB solutions still as tools to gather any sort of data points and evidence that is required to be compiled in an internal report or file, to comply with the user’s individual policies and procedures. However, the leading KYB solution shall offer the capability to remove this dependency and enable a due diligence assessment which is natively tailored and calibrated on the user’s own policy, procedure and questionnaire. This not only produces obvious efficiency and productivity gains, but especially empowers the users with an in-depth, cohesive and quality-assured analysis.
AML screening is symbiotic to KYB. While the core KYB focus remains intact and involves dissecting a legal entity’s structure, ownership and control, the ability to screen behaviour and past history of the company itself as well as its related parties is of paramount importance for an informed risk assessment and decision making. Therefore, an embedded AML screening capability shall be the standard for a top-ranking solution. However, AML screening is mostly built on a legacy approach which depends on static watchlists and was never designed for the volume, velocity, and variety of today’s financial-crime risk. Watchlists are intrinsically narrow in coverage, blind to positive information, rarely capture local or multi-lingual media signals (that often precede formal enforcement) and are typically based on a fuzzy name matching without context, which in turn creates a large volume of false alerts. The result is a compliance treadmill: analysts spend time disproving bad matches instead of assessing real exposure. Therefore, a leading KYB tool shall embed AML screening with the strongest fuzzy logic, multi-lingual capabilities and especially scenario-based contextual discounting logic.
Data, context and interpretation – a new playing field. No news that KYB effectiveness is a function of breadth, quality and curation of data. This is typically measured by access to high quality data, multiple and complementary sources and global registries. However, all these records and entity profiles are based on lists, local registries and commercial data, which are intrinsically static, limited, segregated and centred on high-risk information, without context and without interpretation. On the other side, when striving to learn more about context, open-source investigations typically lack standardization in terms of method, depth, format. In fact, traditional methods and processes designed for manual execution, and technology is often (and erroneously) adopted to automate legacy processes to reduce overhead costs. The leading KYB solution shall therefore not only offer the widest access to high-quality, bank-grade data sources, but also enable a contextual analysis leveraging any other reliable data source, including open sources, and interpret data according to regulatory standards, best practice and the user’s own policy.
The reach of AI means new integration options shall become the standard. While API (Application Programming Interface) and SDK (Software Development Kit) are nowadays the norm for integrating KYB solutions, there are few emerging AI Agent protocols such as Model Context Protocol (MCP), standardizing how agents connect to tools, data sources, and apps, Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), an open spec for agent-to-agent messaging and coordination, or Agent-to-Agent (A2A), Google’s protocol aimed at letting agents securely exchange messages and coordinate actions. A future-proof KYB solution should not only embed AI components, but embrace Agentic AI and ensure such capability can further enable the users through a seamless integration.
3. How we ranked KYB vendors – Choosing a robust methodology
Reflecting the challenges identified today and looming ahead, we have established a methodology combining the following 10 criteria:
Platform capabilities (15%) – Focus on KYB/CDD/EDD, UBO discovery depth, screening and ongoing monitoring, unification of sources and actions.
Data depth and freshness (15%) – Measured through live registry connections, update cadence, real-time assessment, contextual data.
Explainability and auditability (15%) – Reflected not only in reports as a whole, but in the transparency of each investigative step.
Policy automation (10%) – As the ability to calibrate the analysis based on the user’s particular due diligence protocol.
Coverage (10%) – In terms of breadth of jurisdictions and access to local registries, quality and depth of data.
Language capability (5%) – As the ability to perform analysis by finding, elaborating and interpreting sources in any foreign language.
Integration flexibility (10%) – Reflected in web apps, APIs, documentation and already tuned for MCP.
Independent recognition (10%) – In the leaderboards by the leading, most authoritative and independent voices in risk & compliance tech.
Industry relevance (5%) – Measured as relevance across various industries.
Security certifications (5%) – Focus on type, international recognition and number of certifications.
On this basis:
Each criteria received a score from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), which was the weighted accordingly to derive an overall ranking score.
Customer reviews (e.g. G2) were not included to preserve objectivity and avoid distortions of larger/incumbent players leveraging a wider customer base and over a longer timeframe.
No paid placement was accepted.
4. How we evaluated the top KYB vendor providers
#1 CleverChain – Best KYB Solution 2026 | Recognised by Chartis Research & Datos Insights
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | Agentic, unified, end-to-end, real-time, autonomous KYB/CDD/EDD capability. UBO structure look-through regardless of layers of control, leveraging open sources and contextual information. Embedded AML screening with industry-leading fuzzy logic, multi-lingual capabilities and scenario-based contextual discounting logic. Flexibility to embed in any case management and workflow tool. | 5 |
Data depth and freshness | Real-time intelligence built on unification and interpretation of bank-grade, complementary commercial, registry and open data sources covering over 5.6 billion companies and individuals globally. Due diligence automation enriched by contextual analysis. | 5 |
Explainability / auditability | Audit-ready, time-stamped, cited narratives that log investigative steps and surface key sources. | 5 |
Policy automation | End-to-end due diligence automation configurable based on the user’s own protocol – i.e. policy, procedure, questionnaire. | 5 |
Coverage | Global (including e.g. Asia, Middle East and Africa), in depth, leveraging multiple complementary specialist registry data providers, as well as open sources. | 5 |
Language capability | Ability to lead the due diligence automation and perform investigative searches in any language. | 5 |
Integration flexibility | Deployable via web app plus API/MCP integrations for onboarding, EDD and monitoring. | 5 |
Independent recognition | Included by Chartis Research among the FCC50 in 2024 and 2025. Recognised “Best KYB” by Chartis Research in 2024–2025; recognised “Best KYC/KYB Innovation” by Datos Insights in 2025. Multiple other awards for KYB capabilities. | 5 |
Industry relevance | Evidence of use across regulated and non-regulated sectors such as banking, asset management, fintechs and listed industrial groups. | 5 |
Security certifications | ISO27001, SOC 2 (Type II) in progress. | 4 |
#2 Moody’s
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | Compliance Catalyst + Orbis + screening (GRID/kompany) cover KYB/CDD/EDD, UBO discovery, screening & ongoing monitoring with unified workflows. | 5 |
Data depth and freshness | Entity Verification API provides real-time data from commercial registers / authorities. No public evidence of open-source/contextual data though. | 4 |
Explainability / auditability | Case management/investigation tooling supports audit-ready outputs and step transparency. | 5 |
Policy automation | Digital workflows/orchestration to automate decisions per policy. | 5 |
Coverage | 500M+ entities covered by Orbis. | 5 |
Language capability | Early adopter of Natural Language Processing – a building block of AI – to make sense of unstructured data including foreign language. | 5 |
Integration flexibility | APIs for entity verification and data access across Catalyst/Orbis. No public evidence of MCP capability. | 4 |
Independent recognition | Multiple wins in Chartis Financial Crime & Compliance50 (2025); repeated Category Leader placements. | 5 |
Industry relevance | Used broadly across banking, insurance and corporates. | 5 |
Security certifications | ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2 (Type II). | 5 |
#3 Sumsub
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | Comprehensive KYB incl. automated registry checks, UBO, AML screening and monitoring. Workflow design capability is a plus. | 5 |
Data depth and freshness | High-speed automated registry screening and real-time flows. | 4 |
Explainability / auditability | Documented, granular verification steps; dashboard auditability implied. However, no step-wise audit trails as no due diligence automation. | 4 |
Policy automation | No-code onboarding flow configuration but no public evidence of ability to calibrate due diligence protocol to the user’s own policy. | 3 |
Coverage | 600M+ commercial records for registry checks. | 4 |
Language capability | Extensive SDK localization & added African indigenous languages. | 5 |
Integration flexibility | REST API + Web/Mobile SDKs and orchestration. No public evidence of MCP capability. | 4 |
Independent recognition | Gartner Magic Quadrant (Identity Verification) Leader; Chartis FCC50 Top-20 (2025). | 5 |
Industry relevance | Large customer base in crypto, fintech, gaming. No public evidence of consolidated presence among large(r) financial institutions and in the industrial space. | 3 |
Security certifications | ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018, 22301, SOC 2 (Type II). | 5 |
#4 Alloy
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | Decision engine orchestrates KYB/KYC/AML checks, incl. UBOs, via data partners; strong orchestration, depth depends on partners. | 4 |
Data depth and freshness | Real-time onboarding flows through partner network. No public evidence of open-source/contextual data though. | 4 |
Explainability / auditability | Case management and audit-trail / controls referenced in compliance/security materials. | 4 |
Policy automation | Robust decisioning / orchestration rules for policy-based workflows. However, no configurable due diligence protocol and automation. | 4 |
Coverage | Operates with local in-market coverage/design in 30+ countries (data-source reach marketed as broader, but local depth centred on 30+). | 3 |
Language capability | Solid capabilities inferred from partnerships with several leading international players. | 4 |
Integration flexibility | Public developer hub, APIs/SDKs; large partner ecosystem. | 5 |
Independent recognition | Named to CNBC World’s Top Fintech Companies 2025. Named by Datos Insights Winner at the Impact Award Winners in Fraud & AML (tie with CleverChain). | 5 |
Industry relevance | Strong in fintech/banking; limited public proof across non-financial verticals. | 4 |
Security certifications | ISO 27001, SOC 2 (Type II). | 5 |
#5 Dun & Bradstreet
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | Risk Analytics covers KYB/KYC, multi-layer BO discovery, rich compliance data packets, continuous monitoring, with workflows. No natively embedded AML screening capability. | 4 |
Data depth and freshness | No real-time data (as it follows registry updates), although claims of near-real-time monitoring. | 3 |
Explainability / auditability | Ownership visualization and structured data on one side, limited public detail on step-by-step audit trails on the other. | 4 |
Policy automation | Policy-led risk workflow but no option to automate due diligence based on the user’s own policy. | 3 |
Coverage | ~500M entities, ~220 countries/territories. | 4 |
Language capability | Vast database but no ability to run and assess companies in local language. | 4 |
Integration flexibility | Mature REST APIs (Direct 2.0). No public evidence of MCP capability. | 4 |
Independent recognition | Multi-year Category Leader by Chartis Research in KYB Data Solutions. | 5 |
Industry relevance | Broad third-party risk use across sectors. | 5 |
Security certifications | ISO/IEC 2700, ISO 27701, SOC 2 (Type II). | 5 |
#6 Kyckr
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | Live registry access, UBO discovery, official docs; less emphasis on full screening/orchestration. | 4 |
Data depth and freshness | Live, time-stamped register data, however subject to update cycles and no open source data. No natively embedded AML screening capability. | 3 |
Explainability / auditability | Source-of-truth registry documents enable strong auditability. | 5 |
Policy automation | No due diligence automation beyond data retrieval. | 1 |
Coverage | 300+ company registers / 100+ countries incl. offshore jurisdictions. | 4 |
Language capability | Product messaging highlights removing “foreign language” hurdles via normalized registry data. | 4 |
Integration flexibility | Developer portal, API, jurisdiction coverage matrix. No public evidence of MCP capability. | 4 |
Independent recognition | Category Leader by Chartis Research for KYC Data and Solutions in 2024. | 5 |
Industry relevance | Used by top banks and payments firms. | 4 |
Security certifications | ISO27001. | 4 |
#7 Creditsafe
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | KYB checks (UBO/AML, ID add-ons) but more credit-data-centric than deep EDD workflows. No natively embedded AML screening capability. | 3 |
Data depth and freshness | “Instant” KYB via API with real-time feeds. | 4 |
Explainability / auditability | Provides company/UBO reports. However, no step-wise audit trails as no due diligence automation. | 3 |
Policy automation | No authoritative public evidence of policy-rule orchestration. | 1 |
Coverage | ~365M entities globally, however clear European focus. | 3 |
Language capability | Localization options documented in API library. However, no public evidence of multi-language CDD/EDD. | 3 |
Integration flexibility | Updated API docs + enterprise integration portal. No public evidence of MCP capability. | 4 |
Independent recognition | Credit scores and limits recognized as highly trusted and predictive by all major credit insurers. However, no specific recognition for KYB. | 3 |
Industry relevance | Case studies across multiple sectors (e.g., logistics). | 4 |
Security certifications | ISO27001, SOC 2 (Type II) in progress. | 4 |
#8 Strise
Criteria | Description | Score |
Platform capabilities | Standard approach to KYB/KYC onboarding, UBO discovery, sanctions/adverse-media screening, ongoing monitoring. | 4 |
Data depth and freshness | Real-time registry integrations. No public evidence of open-source/contextual data though. | 4 |
Explainability / auditability | “Audit-proof” reports and configurable review/report settings. | 5 |
Policy automation | Rules-driven automation for screening, risk scoring, alerts with explainable outcomes. However, no configurable due diligence protocol and automation. | 3 |
Coverage | Strong Nordics footprint. 300+ sources via integrations (incl. KYCKR). | 4 |
Language capability | Adverse-media screening includes language filtering to focus results. However, no public evidence of multi-language CDD/EDD. | 3 |
Integration flexibility | “Intelligent APIs” and productized integrations (incl. live registry partners). No public evidence of MCP capability. | 4 |
Independent recognition | Recent media spotlights (e.g. Fast Company in 2024) and cloud case studies, but not yet in major risk-tech leader quadrants nor awarded for KYB capabilities. | 2 |
Industry relevance | Adoption across banks/payments and professional services. | 4 |
Security certifications | ISO 27001, SOC 2 (Type II). | 5 |
5. FAQs
Why is KYB important?
KYB prevents bad actors from exploiting corporate structures to launder money, commit fraud, or bypass sanctions. Regulators expect financial institutions, fintechs, marketplaces, and payment providers to verify who they are doing business with - including shell companies and complex ownership chains.
What does a KYB process include?
A full KYB workflow typically covers:
Business registration verification (legal name, status, incorporation date).
Director & management verification.
Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) identification.
Sanctions, PEP, and adverse-media screening for the entity and its controllers.
Monitoring for changes in status, ownership, or risk flags.
Documentation & audit trails for regulatory compliance.
What data sources are used in KYB?
Depending on jurisdiction, KYB solutions may query:
Official company registries
Tax authorities and VAT/GST databases
Licensing bodies (e.g., financial or professional licenses)
Beneficial ownership registries
Global sanctions & watchlists
Corporate filings (annual returns, shareholder lists, PSC filings)
What are common KYB pain points?
Inconsistent registry formats across jurisdictions
Outdated or incomplete public data
Complex multi-layer ownership structures
Missing UBO info in certain countries
Slow manual document collection
High false-positive rates in sanctions/PEP screening
How often should businesses refresh KYB checks?
Most compliance programs use a risk-based approach, typically:
Low risk: every 12–36 months
Medium risk: every 6–12 months
High risk: continuous or event-driven monitoring
Triggers like ownership changes, new sanctions, or abnormal behavior may require immediate re-verification.
How do ongoing monitoring and remediation work?
Automated systems track registry updates, sanctions list changes, and media alerts. When a new risk signal appears, the case is escalated for human review, documentation, and, if needed, additional Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD).
What should go into a KYB compliance policy?
A strong policy defines:
Risk scoring model
Mandatory documents per jurisdiction
Screening rules (sanctions, PEP tiers, media coverage thresholds)
Escalation & approval workflows
Monitoring cadence
Retention & audit requirements
Vendor evaluation criteria
How do KYB tools integrate with workflows?
Integration options usually include:
REST APIs for automated onboarding
Webhooks for real-time registry or sanctions updates
Batch processing for large portfolios / remediation
Dashboard review tools for compliance teams
Case management with evidence attachments and audit exports