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9 Best KYB Verification Solutions in UAE [2026 Guide]

9 Best KYB Verification Solutions in UAE [2026 Guide]

10 Minutes

KYB in the UAE has become a standard part of onboarding when working with other businesses, especially in finance, payments, digital assets, and regulated environments.

A few years ago, many teams treated KYB as a formality. Now, it’s simply part of how business relationships begin, the same way identity verification became normal for individuals.

In the UAE, all the main authorities are directly involved in setting these expectations:

  1. Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE): Sets AML and onboarding expectations for financial institutions and payment firms. Most KYB workflows mirror their rulebooks.
  2. Ministry of Economy (MoE): Supervises non-financial businesses that still fall under AML oversight, including corporate service providers and real estate companies.
  3. VARA (Dubai Digital Asset Regulator): Governs VASPs and expects deeper due diligence, especially when dealing with offshore or layered ownership structures.
  4. DFSA and FSRA: These free-zone regulators have their own manuals, which often go into more detail than mainland rules, especially around UBO documentation and ongoing monitoring.

With all these moving parts, KYB can take time if everything is handled manually. Registries vary, documents differ, ownership structures can stretch across countries, and screening requirements depend on risk levels.

As you can see, the environment is layered enough that manual KYB can consume most of the onboarding timeline. That is where tools and automation start to make sense.

Today, we'll explore the 9 best KYB verification solutions you can pick from when expanding in the UAE. We are also going to share how we picked them in the following section. But before anything, below is a quick comparison table if you are running late, followed by the UAE's core KYB verification requirements.

9 Best KYB verification solutions in the UAE - Quick Comparison

RankPlatformKey TakeawayNotes
1SignzyBest Overall. Most scalable across the UAE and internationally for onboarding.Strong mix of registry data, document intelligence, UBO tracing, and automated risk screening that works well in both UAE licensing structures and global workflows.
2AML UAEBest for compliance teams needing regional AML guidanceA good fit when the priority is UAE-specific compliance alignment, UBO documentation assistance, and structured AML processes rather than full automation or global onboarding scale.
3SumsubBest for all-in-one KYC + KYB stacksA strong choice when individual verification and business verification live under one system, especially in regulated verticals.
4TruliooBest for multinational corporations onboardingCovers many jurisdictions, though speed may vary, and works better for global coverage rather than local precision.
5OndatoBest for compliance teams with structured workflowsBroad feature coverage, though the experience benefits teams willing to adjust their process rather than expect out-of-the-box smoothness.
6Shufti ProBest for multilingual document support.Advantageous when you want a unified verification stack without juggling multiple tools.
7PersonaBest for product teams who want controlWorks well when you need to design your own onboarding logic rather than plug into a fixed compliance template.
8uqudoBest regional alignment for GCC onboardingWorks well for teams onboarding companies in the UAE and nearby markets where local documents and mixed language formats are common.
9ComplyAdvantageBest for ongoing AML monitoringNot a full KYB engine, but extremely valuable as a risk-monitoring layer when screening businesses and ownership profiles for ongoing exposure.

Which KYB requirements apply to businesses operating in the UAE?

If we go on to read the UAE's official documents, it will be 2060, and we might be on Mars; hence, we are going to discuss the main KYB verification requirements only.

KYB compliance checklist for UAE
KYB compliance flow in the UAE, highlighting key checks

So, yes, these KYB verification requirements aren't everything. We’ve mentioned the main ones only.

💡 Business activity match

A lot of companies in the UAE hold licences with broad wording. The expectation is to verify whether the licence actually covers what the company plans to do with you. This step prevents onboarding a company that is technically licensed but not compliant for the intended use case.

💡 Beneficial ownership identification

The UAE requires companies to maintain an updated UBO register. That means during onboarding, you’re expected to identify the real people behind the structure. This can get messy with holding entities in places like BVI, Seychelles, or Cyprus.

A KYB workflow here often includes:

  • Ownership chart
  • IDs of controlling individuals
  • Shareholding percentage or control rights

Sometimes the official documents don’t make ownership clear. In those cases, compliance teams commonly request declarations or board resolutions confirming who actually controls the company.

💡 Risk screening and AML checks

Since many local and regional companies have connections to high-risk jurisdictions or politically exposed regions, the UAE's regulations require screening the names tied to the company against sanctions and political exposure.

💡 Ongoing monitoring

KYB here isn’t “submit documents and never revisit.” Licences renew every year. Shareholding can change suddenly. And regulators occasionally request evidence that monitoring is continuous.

Most UAE compliance teams schedule reviews annually, or faster if the company falls under a higher risk category.

🧪 Methodology behind this review: How We Selected the Best KYB Verification Solutions in the UAE?

When compiling the reviews and recommendations for KYB tools for the UAE, we used a three-fold approach:

  1. Regulatory Framework & Public Documentation: We referred to official UAE regulations, guidance documents, and recent changes, especially around AML/CFT laws, UBO disclosure rules, and compliance expectations for licensed entities. This gives a legal baseline for what KYB must cover in the UAE.
  2. Publicly Available Vendor Information & Product Docs: For each KYB provider, we examined their published capabilities (such as registry-lookup support, document types supported, UBO handling, AML screening, global vs regional coverage) to map how closely they align with UAE compliance needs.
  3. Real-user Feedback & Anecdotal Insight: Thirdly, we used a combination of public feedback (reviews and comments) from G2, TrusRadius, Capterra, and more alongside Signzy users (anonymized) who previously used other platforms, focusing on pain points, success stories, integration challenges, and real-world suitability for the UAE. This helps ground the theoretical "perfect tool" in actual experience.

Combining regulation + vendor capabilities + user feedback, this review aims to give realistic and practical insights. With that said, let’s now get to business! Below are reviews of the UAE’s best KYB solution providers.

1. Signzy

A fast, scalable KYB platform trusted by regulated companies across borders

Signzy supports instant validation of legal entities across more than 180 countries, including the UAE mainland and a long list of free zones such as DIFC, ADGM, DMCC, and JAFZA. That regional alignment matters because the UAE has layered registry authorities, and not every global solution handles that structure cleanly.

The workflow is built around business lifecycle compliance.

In simple terms, trade licences, incorporation evidence, shareholder structures, UBO data, sanctions lists, bank-account confirmation, and AML screening all sit in one automated flow.

Step-by-step diagram showing how Signzy handles KYB, from business identity checks through ownership verification, risk screening, bank verification, approval, and ongoing monitoring.
Signzy’s step-by-step KYB process, showing how each compliance check validates the next stage from onboarding to ongoing monitoring.

For UAE companies dealing with suppliers or corporate clients across borders, this structure cuts down operational time dramatically.

“Once KYB went live with Signzy, our onboarding time dropped by roughly 65%, and approval accuracy went up because everything was finally standardized.” Head of Compliance, UAE Fintech.

Teams that used to juggle manual validation and registry searches now get structured output with audit-ready evidence.

Another strength is how quickly the system processes results. Businesses report that verification time drops significantly once workflows are tuned. The platform behaves like infrastructure, meaning it can scale without forcing teams to reinvent their onboarding rules.

We onboard partners across Asia and Europe. With Signzy, over 90% of entities verify automatically, and only edge cases need manual review.” Risk Lead, Payments Platform.
“Documents in Arabic used to slow us down. With Signzy, about 80% of those flow through cleanly with no manual processing.” Operations Manager, Government-linked Programme

Signzy - Best For

  • Regulated fintech platforms operating under the UAE Central Bank or VARA-linked frameworks.
  • Marketplaces and digital service platforms onboarding UAE + international business sellers.
  • Cross-border payment and remittance companies are in the scaling stage.
  • Organizations dealing heavily in Arabic documentation

2. AML UAE

Compliance-focused service with regional regulatory alignment

AML UAE, along with a KYB verification platform, operates more like a compliance partner offering AML advisory, due-diligence support, screening workflows, and structured guidance based on UAE regulations.

The strength here is familiarity with how compliance works across mainland licensing, DIFC and ADGM frameworks, DNFBP supervision, and requirements from regulators overseeing financial crime prevention.

Instead of just returning a registry result or flag, AML UAE tends to support the wider compliance process. That includes policies, screening programs, reporting formats, and guidance for teams going through audits or preparing internal controls.

AML UAE - Best For

  • Businesses that need regional AML guidance and structured compliance support rather than a fully automated KYB engine.
  • Teams building or maturing AML policies, reporting frameworks, and workflows aligned with UAE regulatory expectations.

3. Sumsub

A feature-rich platform with strong automation

Sumsub is one of the most visible names in identity compliance right now. Its KYB offering includes registry lookups, ownership structure mapping, document verification, AML screening, ongoing monitoring, and compliance audit trails.

A lot of companies choose Sumsub because it bundles KYC, KYB, and fraud-prevention in one system. We can say it's one of the few comprehensive platforms that offer end-to-end stacks under one roof alongside Signzy. That reduces fragmentation when verifying both companies and their key personnel.

The platform is powerful if you want automation and scalable workflows. But support sentiment isn't consistently positive. Some public reviews describe slow responses or a lack of human resolution.

"Their system is opaque. You don't get a fair explanation. Their automation simply "fails," and that's used as a final verdict — no human review, no accountability,” one user shared on Trustpilot.

There are also complaints about limited accepted ID types in certain industries, which can create onboarding friction for end users.

For UAE companies, Sumsub works especially well in high-volume onboarding environments, including fintech, crypto compliance, and global platforms. It's not the lightest tool, so teams wanting simplicity may find Signzy a better pick.

Sumsub - Best For

  • Crypto, financial, and compliance-driven platforms handling global onboarding.
  • High-volume onboarding environments.

4. Trulioo

Known name with wide coverage

Trulioo, for KYB, covers registry checks, business identity validation, corporate structure information, AML, and sanctions screening. The scale is the selling point: companies dealing with partners in different countries tend to appreciate the consolidated data access.

However, several users online mention delays in verification steps. Some describe waiting days rather than minutes, especially when certain checks fall into manual queues.

I have been advised by EQbank that uses Trulioo as an outsourced KYC provider that it takes up to 3 business days to process said verification. Same ID/Selfie verification process elsewhere takes a day at best, but mostly under an hour or even minutes," a user shared in a review.

That signals the platform may prioritize thoroughness over speed. If you’re onboarding vendors in bulk and response times matter, it's something to test upfront.

Trulioo fits UAE businesses working across borders more than local-only operations. If you only verify UAE trade licenses and free zone entities, there are leaner options. But if you're onboarding companies from Asia, the EU, or North America, having one tool capable of handling that range can simplify compliance.

Trulioo - Best For

  • Suitable when onboarding companies from multiple regions and you need predictable regulatory coverage, even if verification time isn’t always instant.
  • When verifying business sellers across different countries rather than relying on local vendor checks.

5. Ondato

Strong compliance feature set

Ondato sells itself as a full compliance stack, and its KYB component includes registry lookup, ownership analysis, document validation, sanctions screening, and monitoring.

However, things like strict file upload rules, single-upload steps, and form sensitivity have been called out as workflow blockers. That suggests the product can feel rigid until fully configured. Once the setup is stable, the system reportedly performs consistently, but the initial experience may require training or process adjustment.

For UAE companies dealing with regulated onboarding or supplier vetting, Ondato can bring order and repeatability. Just don’t assume a plug-and-play experience like Signzy. The real value shows up when internal compliance teams are already mature or willing to adapt.

Ondato - Best For

  • Payment institutions and EMIs where structured compliance matters more than onboarding speed, and workflows can be standardized over time.
  • Enterprise procurement teams, especially when vetting many business partners and needing clear audit history, ownership data, and regulatory evidence.

6. Shufti Pro

Fast identity engine with KYB added.

Shufti Pro began as an identity-verification provider, then expanded into KYB. Currently, it offers company registry checks, UBO mapping, AML screening, multilingual document support, and ongoing monitoring.

The multilingual capability and ability to handle regional corporate documents are valuable for companies in the UAE. It's a good fit when you need volume and speed, but it’s worth running a structured pilot to see how it handles edge cases like free-zone licensing or layered ownership.

Shufti Pro - Best For

  • Recruitment and staffing tech platforms that want to verify employer entities and validate corporate legitimacy before sending talent or contract workers.
  • Payment gateways and remittance services companies need KYB + AML checks with relatively fast turnaround times rather than manual legal reviews.

7. Persona

A flexible verification platform, although support sentiment appears mixed in reviews

Persona isn't strictly a KYB-only tool. It's more of a customizable verification system that lets companies build business and identity verification flows around their own rules. For KYB, it can validate a company's legal status, confirm registry details, collect corporate documentation, and screen entities against risk lists.

Functionally, Persona works best when the business has compliance or engineering resources capable of fine-tuning workflows. However, based on user feedback online, support responsiveness can be a sore spot. A recurring sentiment is that troubleshooting sometimes turns into back-and-forth messages without direct resolution.

One user phrase captured it bluntly:

“Support couldn’t even read the full message before responding.”

That kind of experience may frustrate teams who expect quick guidance, especially during onboarding or configuration.

If you want something structured with very little tweaking, Persona may feel too "build-it-yourself," as compared to out-of-the-box solutions like Signzy.

Persona - Best For

  • Tech and SaaS companies with custom onboarding logic where verification steps need tailoring rather than a fixed template.
  • Marketplaces with multiple business types where different business categories require different KYB requirements.
  • Product teams want modular identity layers to evolve or iterate compliance workflows over time.

8. uqudo

Region-aware verification platform with strong MENA relevance

uqudo stands out because it focuses heavily on the Middle East and Africa. For KYB in the UAE, it supports business-registry checks, document analysis, legal entity mapping, ownership validation, and AML screening.

The regional positioning matters: verification in the UAE isn't always straightforward due to varied free-zone authorities, sponsorship models, and multiple document formats. uqudo's value is that it feels designed with those realities in mind rather than attempting a one-size-fits-all global approach.

Performance-wise, the tool is generally seen as efficient and modern. Occasional comments mention internal operations needing maturity or slower service communication during complex escalations.

uqudo - Best For

  • UAE/GCC fintech and e-payments, where compliance depends on verifying local entities and documentation formats.
  • Government-linked platforms or digital identity ecosystems where alignment with regional legal structures matters.
  • Regional service marketplaces or platforms onboarding UAE businesses, which benefit from familiarity with license and registry variations.

9. ComplyAdvantage

Excellent for risk screening, though it's not a pure KYB engine

ComplyAdvantage is more about risk intelligence: sanctions, watchlists, politically exposed persons data, negative media, and automated monitoring. The value appears after onboarding. In other words: KYB tells you who they are. ComplyAdvantage tells you whether they're in trouble.

Some teams love that separation. Others expect it to do everything in one shot and get frustrated when it doesn’t automatically verify business registration or legal documents. There’s a review sentiment that it generates more alerts than necessary: one person described spending time chasing “false alarms.”

This isn’t the tool you pick instead of a KYB provider. It's one you bolt on if you care about risk beyond day one, unless you are a full-stack compliance platform like Signzy, where an ongoing module is available within the same platform.

ComplyAdvantage - Best For

  • Financial institutions under AML obligations where ongoing monitoring isn’t optional but mandatory.
  • Digital asset companies or exchanges where reputational and regulatory exposure is high.

Getting Started With Signzy in the UAE: KYB verification modules and implementation

When teams come to us for KYB, they are usually trying to fix one of two things. Either onboarding is too slow and manual, or compliance teams are drowning in checks that do not scale. Our job is to take those repeated steps and turn them into predictable workflows.

Getting started is usually simple. We first map how you currently approve businesses. What documents do you collect? Which jurisdictions do you deal with? How deeply do you need to go into ownership and risk? Once that picture is clear, we help you plug those steps into our verification stack. Most customers start with a sandbox, wire in a few test flows, then move to the production environment once the results are stable.

To give a quick snapshot of what this looks like in practice, here’s how Signzy scores across the most important KYB capability pillars:

Signzy KYB capability strength map
Signzy’s KYB capability strength map highlighting strong performance across automation, AML risk signals, and global coverage.

Below are the modules of Signzy that matter most for KYB Verification. Each module can be used standalone or as part of an end-to-end suite. Also, you only pay for what you use.

1. Business verification

Business verification is the part where we answer a basic question for you. Does this company really exist in the way it claims?

Signzy's KYB module connects to trusted data sources and registries to pull core facts. Name, registration number, status, entity type, dates, address, and other key fields. For the UAE, that means understanding different issuing bodies, such as DED or free zones, for other regions, which means the relevant corporate registers and business databases.

The output is a clean view of the company as it appears in official records. That lets your team quickly catch expired licences, mismatched names, odd addresses, or entities that do not appear at all. Instead of manual searches and screenshots, you get a structured result that is easy to store, audit, and review.

2. Beneficial ownership and ownership structure analysis

This part goes deeper than the licence. It is about who actually sits behind the company. On paper, you might see one or two corporate owners. In reality, there can be multiple layers and individuals behind those entities.

A typical flow looks like this:

  1. We collect the list of shareholders and legal owners that you or your client provides
  2. If an owner is another company, we follow that trail rather than stopping there
  3. We continue until we reach real people, not just holding companies
  4. For each person, we record the relevant identifiers you need, such as name and official ID details
  5. We attach ownership or control percentages so you see who really holds influence

The result is an ownership picture that is easier to understand and defend. Compliance teams can point to a clear chain instead of a vague description. That makes internal approvals and external audits much less painful.

3. Document validation and data extraction

KYB always involves documents. Trade licences, incorporation certificates, shareholder lists, registry extracts, and sometimes financial or tax records. Doing all of this manually is slow and error-prone.

With our document layer, you upload or receive the files as usual. The system then reads them, extracts key fields, and checks for consistency against what is known about the company. That could be name, registration number, address, date of issue, activity, or ownership details.

The goal is not just to read documents. It is to remove repeated data entry and catch subtle differences that are easy to miss when people are tired. Over time, this gives you faster first-time pass rates and fewer back-and-forth loops asking for the same papers again.

4. AML, sanctions and risk screening

Once you know who the company is and who owns it, the next question is risk.

Are any of these names on a sanctions list? Are they politically exposed? Are they connected to serious negative events?

Inside our screening layer, you can:

  • Screen company names, UBOs, and key signatories against global sanctions and watchlists
  • Check for political exposure indicators where required
  • Look for negative news patterns tied to financial crime, regulatory action, or similar events
  • Store the results so future reviews and auditors can see what was done at the time

The point here is not to scare you away from every complex case. It is to give you enough information to treat a low-risk exporter differently from a high-risk structure that appears in multiple red flag sources.

5. Global data access and ongoing monitoring

Many UAE and regional businesses work with partners in more than one country. Opening a new corridor or market often means onboarding entities in multiple jurisdictions at once. Using separate KYB flows for each region quickly becomes unmanageable.

With our stack, you keep a single verification framework and extend it to new markets as needed. Company data, ownership checks, and screening use a common pattern, even if the sources behind them differ by country.

On top of that, you can turn on monitoring for higher-risk relationships. That means periodically rechecking the entity, watching for ownership changes, and catching new sanctions or major developments that could matter to your exposure.

So, that was it for this guide. If you are ready to streamline KYB verifications or want to know more about any of the modules we discussed above, you can book a no-obligation demo with Signzy here.

FAQ

Do all UAE businesses need KYB?

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Not every company is legally required to run KYB, but regulated industries, platforms processing payments, and businesses onboarding third-party sellers commonly must.

How long does KYB normally take?

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It varies. Simple verification with clean documents can finish in minutes. Complex ownership or offshore holdings may take longer when manual review is required.

What documents are usually required for KYB in the UAE?

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Trade licence, registration certificate, ownership records, UBO details, and IDs of authorized signatories are typical, with variations based on industry and risk.

Does KYB include screening owners for sanctions or political exposure?

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Yes. KYB normally checks the company and key individuals against sanctions lists, PEP lists, and negative media to avoid onboarding high-risk entities.

How often should KYB records be updated?

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Most teams refresh data annually or when a trigger event occurs, such as license expiry, ownership change, or major risk profile shift.

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Gaurav Gupta

Gaurav Gupta

Gaurav Gupta is the Global Product Head at Signzy, leading the strategy and development of the company’s KYC, KYB, AML, and digital onboarding products used by banks, fintechs, and financial institutions across global markets. He specializes in building scalable compliance and verification platforms, transforming complex regulatory and risk workflows into seamless, automated product experiences. Gaurav works at the intersection of product, engineering, and AI.

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