What is eKYC? Electronic KYC for UK Firms
In brief: eKYC is the use of digital identity, verification, screening, and evidence workflows to support customer due diligence without relying only on manual document checks.
Key points
- eKYC can support remote onboarding and faster CDD.
- Digital checks should still be tied to risk assessment and human review.
- The firm needs an audit trail showing what was checked, when, and why the result was accepted.
What is eKYC?
eKYC means electronic Know Your Customer. It uses digital checks to help a firm identify and verify a client, screen for risk, and keep evidence. For UK accountants and law firms, eKYC is useful when onboarding clients remotely, reducing document chasing, and creating a clearer audit trail.
eKYC is not a replacement for judgement. The firm still owns the AML decision.
What eKYC can include
- Identity document capture.
- Liveness or selfie checks.
- Address verification.
- PEP, sanctions, and adverse media screening.
- Company and beneficial ownership checks.
- Fraud signals such as document tampering or mismatch.
- A timestamped evidence record.
Where eKYC fits in CDD
| CDD job | How eKYC helps |
|---|---|
| Identify the client | Captures identity information in a consistent flow. |
| Verify identity | Checks documents and data sources. |
| Screen for risk | Runs PEP, sanctions, and adverse media checks where configured. |
| Keep evidence | Stores results, timestamps, and decision notes. |
| Review changes | Creates a baseline for later monitoring. |
What to watch for
Digital verification can make weak processes faster. A firm still needs to ask: does the client profile make sense, is the ownership clear, is the source of funds credible, and is the risk rating right?
If a digital check passes but other facts look wrong, the firm should pause and review.
Evidence to keep
Keep the verification result, date, data checked, reviewer, exceptions, false-positive decisions, and any manual override reason. If the firm relies on a provider, keep enough detail to show what the provider checked and how the firm made its decision.
Official context
UK AML obligations still sit under the Money Laundering Regulations. See the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
This guide is general information and is not legal advice.