Incode Know Your Business (KYB) now lets customers choose their checks

Incode business verification, commonly known as Know Your Business (KYB), now allows customers to choose exactly which checks to run on a US business. This update breaks business verification into eight separate checks that customers can run individually, all through the same API.

Additionally, the update introduces four new checks to KYB: Web Presence and Website Analysis show whether a business operates online, Industry Info shows what the business does, and Financial Intelligence shows its financial history.

This update acknowledges the varying business needs represented by a check and empowers customers to use only the checks they need. For instance, a marketplace screening new sellers might run two checks, while a lender about to extend credit might run all eight.

In this post, I’ll cover how modular checks differ from a fixed check, what each of the eight checks tells a customer, how four common onboarding flows use them, and how the API handles checks that take longer to return.

How modular business verification differs from a fixed check

Business verification traditionally runs as one fixed check. Every applicant receives the same review, so a sole proprietor with a website faces the same process as a holding company with four layers of ownership above it, and a marketplace approving thousands of low-risk sellers receives the same verification as a lender underwriting one large loan.

Modular checks change that. A customer sets the depth for each flow, and each response runs only the specific checks requested.

The eight KYB checks you can run with Incode

With Incode business verification, each check answers a different question about a business:

1. Identity confirms the business exists and that its tax ID matches the legal name on the application, checked against IRS records and Secretary of State filings.
2. Address confirms the registered address matches the one on the application.
3. Status and Entity Type shows whether the business is active and how it is structured, such as a C corporation.
4. Person Association confirms a named person is tied to the business as an owner, director, or officer.
5. Web Presence (new) shows whether the business operates online, based on its domain and social profiles.
6. Website Analysis (new) examines the business's website to show whether it is a working site or an unfinished or parked page.
7. Industry Info (new) returns what the business does, and can run on its own.
8. Financial Intelligence (new) adds liens, litigation, and bankruptcy history.

Business verification examples for marketplaces, payments, AI platforms, and lenders

Each flow below uses a different mix of the eight checks.

• A marketplace onboarding high-volume sellers: The Identity check and the Status and Entity Type check let a legitimate seller through quickly. The Industry Info check runs on its own, so a business in a category the marketplace prohibits can be rejected before any other check runs.
• A payments platform onboarding merchants: The Identity and Address checks confirm the legal name, tax ID, and registered address. The Web Presence and Website Analysis checks show whether the business operates in the real world, and the Person Association check confirms the person signing up is an owner, director, or officer.
• An AI platform granting access to a model: The Identity check and the Status and Entity Type check confirm the company exists and is active. The Person Association check ties the person requesting access to that company, and the Industry Info check shows what the company does.
• A lender or insurer taking on financial risk: The lender runs all eight checks. The Financial Intelligence check adds liens, litigation, and bankruptcy history, which show how the business has handled past obligations.

How the KYB API works across onboarding and reviews

All eight checks run through one API, so customers only have to connect once. A customer can request several checks in one call, or add checks later through the same connection as the relationship grows and the risk increases, with no second integration. Checks can also re-run after onboarding, for example when a periodic review comes due, or when a business changes its registered details or starts a new line of activity. In those cases, the team requests only the checks that event requires.

Some checks take longer to return than others. The four new checks (Web Presence, Website Analysis, Industry Info, and Financial Intelligence) take 15 to 45 seconds to resolve, while registry lookups return much faster. Incode sends the slower results by webhook (an automatic notification to the customer's system when a result is ready) instead of holding the request open, so the applicant is not left waiting on them.

Customers request checks through the API, and KYB works as a module inside any workflow they already run. It pairs with identity verification when the use case calls for it.

This release covers US businesses.

How to check unusual businesses instead of rejecting them

Some unusual applicants are fraudulent. Others are legitimate businesses with a two-month-old domain, or a registered address that does not match because a clerk keyed it differently. Telling the two apart takes extra checks, which is why risk teams so often reject instead of investigate.

With Incode KYB, teams choose the checks for each applicant. For example, a team can run the Identity check on every applicant, since it is a single registry lookup. It can add Web Presence and Website Analysis for applicants that look unusual, and reserve Financial Intelligence for the cases with the highest financial risk. A light check costs less than a full verification, so it can run on every applicant while the deeper checks go to the applicants that need them.

Ready to see how business verification (KYB) fits your onboarding flow? Request a demo today.