Apropos, my latest post about KYC outreach to corporate counterparties, here are the 10 worst things can do when collecting KYC from your customers, investors, suppliers or other counterparties.

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❌ Reach out via email and enclose PDF or Excel sheets for them to fill out. Your counterparty will immediately get tired and concerned about data protection and security when they are asked to share the chairperson's passport via insecure email.

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❌ Ask for data you already have. Nothing is more frustrating for a customer who has been with you for 10 years than being asked about their name, address and business model. You should know by now.

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❌ Restrict who can reply to the questionnaire you have sent out. In reality, multiple people need to respond to your questions within a complex corporate customer. Don't make it harder for them by limiting who can take part in satisfying your requirements.

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❌ Have non-conditional questionnaires. For example, ask an investor, “Are you US-based?” Even if the investor is not, they have to go through 10 pages of disclaimers and US-related questions. Make sure the investor is only exposed to the questions and information they need to be exposed to.

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❌ Ask for signature validation from people who have no real chance of validating. E.g. ask the Head of Treasury to sign and confirm the validity of the 300-company legal entity structure chart. It's just not a fair request.

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❌ Require strange documentation that no one else would require and then argue that it's based on legal requirements. Sometimes, it is due to the legislation, but most often, it’s more about the compliance person who designed the requirements. Be flexible in what documents you need.

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❌ Ask questions without including data you already have. “Do you expect the same USD flow on your account in the coming 12 months compared to the previous 12 months?”. Providing the number of what it was the past 12 months makes the life for the customer much easier.

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❌ Become aggressive and threatening when the counterparty doesn't respond. Maybe the slow response is due to the horrible process you have designed and the tools you are using.

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❌ Assume that the counterparty finds KYC as important and interesting as you do. Let’s face it - most people hate KYC. They understand the importance and why it has to be done, but they will most often push this to the bottom of the task list.

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❌ Refuse to help the counterparty with anything. If you want the response time down, then try calling your contact person and ask if you can help them with anything. Maybe fill out some data points over the phone and then ask the person to do the rest.

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