Glossary

Best KYB API platforms for U.S. companies that need high pass rates with minimal manual review

U.S. companies onboarding business customers face a unique set of Know Your Business (KYB) challenges. Business information is spread across dozens of state registries, ownership structures can be difficult to untangle, and manual compliance reviews often slow down onboarding and increase customer drop-offs.

A KYB API helps automate these processes by retrieving business information, verifying company details, identifying beneficial owners (UBOs), performing AML screening, and routing businesses through risk-based onboarding workflows.

However, not every KYB API is built for the same purpose. Some providers specialise in U.S. business verification, while others offer end-to-end global onboarding platforms that combine KYB with KYC, fraud prevention, identity verification and ongoing monitoring.

In this guide, we compare four leading KYB API providers used by U.S. organisations:

GBG
Sumsub
Middesk
Kyckr

We'll compare their business data coverage, UBO capabilities, workflow automation, ongoing monitoring and ideal use cases to help you choose the right platform.

What is a KYB API?

A Know Your Business (KYB) API enables organisations to automate the verification of business customers during onboarding. Instead of manually searching government registries, requesting incorporation documents or researching ownership structures, a KYB API retrieves and validates company information through a single integration.

Most modern KYB platforms combine several capabilities into one workflow, including:

Business registration verification
UBO and director identification
Identity verification for directors and beneficial owners
Sanctions, PEP and adverse media screening
Risk scoring and automated decisioning
Case management
Ongoing monitoring for ownership and compliance changes

Comparing GBG, Sumsub, Middesk, and Kyckr at a glance*

Feature	GBG	Sumsub	Middesk	Kyckr
Core KYB focus	End-to-end KYB, KYC, AML and fraud intelligence	Unified KYB, KYC, AML and fraud verification	U.S. business identity and compliance	Official global company registry access
Company data coverage	600M+ global company records, 200+ beneficial ownership registries, and 2,500+ PEP, sanctions, and adverse media watchlists, and identity verification coverage in 195 countries	600M+ records for business registry checks, and identity/document verification in 220+ territories	160M+ U.S. business profiles	120M companies across 100+ countries
U.S. business verification	Multi-source U.S. business data	U.S. registry and data source coverage	Direct Secretary of State and IRS integrations	U.S. company registry access
UBO and director identification	Automated UBO and director discovery with identity verification	Automated shareholder, UBO and director checks	Ownership and business legitimacy signals for U.S. entities, with UBO verification available	Automated UBO discovery and ownership mapping
Automation and workflow management	AI-driven workflows, case management and CRM integrations	No-code workflow builder and case management	Risk scoring with dynamic routing	Automated data retrieval and structured outputs
Ongoing monitoring	Continuous monitoring for sanctions, ownership and status changes	Ongoing AML screening and transaction monitoring	Frequently updated business status and risk insights based on authoritative U.S. government data	Monitoring through updated registry filings

GBG

GBG’s capabilities span business data verification, document and biometric checks, fraud intelligence, risk scoring, KYC, KYB, and global coverage across 195 countries. With 80+ identity fraud protection checks and 20,000+ business customers, GBG supports high-assurance onboarding at scale.

GBG Detected: End-to-end KYB for global onboarding

For business verification, GBG Detected delivers an automated, end-to-end KYB platform that accelerates KYB onboarding and reduces manual review.

Key capabilities include:

Automated low-risk approvals that help convert legitimate businesses quickly.
Access to 600 million global company records, 200+ beneficial ownership registries, and 2,500+ PEP, sanctions, and adverse media watchlists, alongside identity verification coverage in 195 countries.
Automatic discovery and identification of directors and UBOs through an auto-build hierarchy tool. The solution calculates ownership percentages, traces parent-subsidiary relationships across multiple layers, and flags individuals who exceed regulatory thresholds. This removes the need for manual registry searches.
Automated workflows and configurable risk criteria that reduce manual checks by an average of 67% and cut onboarding times by up to 60%.
Continuous screening that detects status changes, sanctions updates, ownership shifts and risk indicators.

The workflow begins in a branded portal, routes customers through dynamic steps, supports auto-approval for low-risk cases, and provides case management for reviews and audit readiness. GBG Detected integrates directly with CRMs – including a fully native Salesforce app – so that commercial and compliance teams stay aligned at every stage.

“Every customer we work with is different and has different needs when it comes to KYB. And that’s why we’ve built a very flexible platform to cater to those needs.” – Harry Musson, KYB Specialist at GBG

Sumsub

Sumsub offers one unified verification platform covering user verification, business verification, AML screening, fraud prevention and transaction monitoring. Its business verification solution provides high-speed KYB designed to onboard companies globally.

Key capabilities include:

Registry checks across 600 million commercial records
Shareholder verification through a 500 million entry database
Average 15-second business verification
UBO and director checks in under 30 seconds with pass rates exceeding 90%
Automated corporate document reading in any language
Access to 30,000 global data sources across 220+ countries and territories
AML screening across 11,000+ watchlists

Sumsub also provides a no-code builder for verification flows, letting teams design risk-based journeys, customize interfaces, and trigger dynamic actions by country or entity type.

Middesk

Middesk focuses on US-specific business identity with direct pipelines to every Secretary of State office, the IRS, and hundreds of state, county and city agencies. This enables verification of 100% of registered U.S. businesses using the freshest available data, with 92% of profiles updated in the past 10 days.

Signal

Signal provides instant onboarding insights using only a business name and address. It returns:

A 0–100 composite score representing legitimacy and risk
Reason codes covering entity type, age, registration status, sanctions and more
Automatic routing for enhanced verification steps

With 160 million business profiles and real-time screening, Middesk supports fast qualification, reduced onboarding costs, and dynamic workflows for US-focused teams.

Kyckr

Kyckr connects directly to 300+ official company registers across 100+ countries, giving access to 120 million companies with legally authoritative, time-stamped registry data.

Core capabilities:

Live company records retrieved and normalized in real time
Structured company profiles (PDF or JSON) with directors, shareholders and linked individuals
Original company filings delivered in 15 minutes or less
Up to 80% faster KYB through automated data extraction and verification

UBO Verify

Kyckr’s UBO solution identifies beneficial owners by analyzing live shareholder records across borders. It delivers:

Automated UBO discovery
Calculated UBOs based on your thresholds
A structured data report and ownership graph
95% faster UBO verification than manual processes

What to look for in a KYB API platform

To achieve high pass rates with minimal manual review, prioritize providers that offer:

Broad, authoritative global and US data coverage capable of normalizing fragmented registry sources.
Automation across business verification, UBO discovery, identity proofing, screening and monitoring through a single platform.
Dynamic, configurable workflows that adapt by entity type, jurisdiction and risk level.
Strong case management and CRM integrations enabling teams to handle exceptions efficiently and stay audit-ready.

Which KYB API is right for your business?

The best KYB API depends on your business model and compliance requirements.

If you mainly onboard U.S.-registered businesses, a specialist provider such as Middesk may offer the government data coverage you need.
If you require official registry documents across multiple jurisdictions, Kyckr's registry-first approach could be a good fit for your business.
If you want to manage both KYC and KYB through a unified verification platform, Sumsub provides a broad range of verification capabilities.
If you need an end-to-end onboarding platform combining global business verification, identity verification, UBO discovery, AML screening, fraud intelligence, workflow automation and ongoing monitoring, GBG offers a comprehensive solution designed for regulated organisations operating at scale.

Conclusion

GBG, Sumsub, Middesk and Kyckr each address KYB challenges in different ways. For organisations that want an end-to-end global platform that reduces manual checks, accelerates onboarding and maintains compliance at scale, GBG offers comprehensive, integrated KYB intelligence built on decades of identity expertise.

*Disclaimer: Information relating to third-party products and companies referenced in this article is based on publicly available sources and official publications at the time of writing. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, product features, positioning and company information may change and GBG does not guarantee that all information remains current or complete.

Nothing in this article constitutes an endorsement, recommendation or ranking of any third-party provider. Readers should consult each provider’s official website and conduct their own assessment before making any purchasing decisions.

To request an update or correction, please contact communications@gbg.com

Sources:

Get in touch with GBG

Request a demo