KYC and AML: beyond the acronyms

Know Your Customer policies at financial institutions have more nuance than you'd expect.

KYC and AML: beyond the acronyms Patrick McKenzie (patio11) • Jan 23rd, 2023 Many people are vaguely aware that financial institutions have a responsibility to Know Your Customer (KYC) and have anti-moneylaundering (AML) programs, but what do those actually mean? I’m glad you asked. They’re… complicated and fuzzy, in a way that has managed to give many people (inside and outside of industry) mistaken impressions as to their levels of breadth and rigor. They are also not straightforward in how they achieve their goals, in ways which defy a lot of expectations for how laws generally work. O

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