The Kyckr Guide to Using Company Registers for KYB
When a compliance officer at a major bank needs to verify a Cayman Islands entity at 3 PM on Friday, the reality of fragmented global registries becomes painfully clear.
Kyckr has been working with official company registries since 2007. We’ve found that there are 5 important factors to consider with every business registry:
How can I access them?
What data is available?
Is the data reliable?
What are the associated costs?
Can I integrate the company registry data into my KYB workflow?
Let’s start with:
Company Registry Accessibility
Every company registry has different accessibility requirements. Let’s go over the different models:
Open to Anyone: The UK’s Companies House, for example, doesn’t require an account. Anyone, anywhere in the world with an internet connection can access the database.
Account Sign Up: But some registries offer tiered access. Cyprus, for instance, enables free company registry searches of basic information, but requires an account to download company filings.
ID Verification: Malta, meanwhile, requires an account and identity verification to access the search function.
Closed to the Public: Some registries, however, don’t even have an online search function and are closed to the public, accessible only to registry officials. The British Virgin Islands, for example, and Alberta, Canada.
The registry landscape is patchy and fragmented. But this was why Kyckr was founded.
As founder Ben Cronin said, it was “to build a connection to all the company houses across Europe, and ultimately, across the world.”
KYB Data Offering
Knowing what data the company registry makes available saves you time in advance.
Most company registers – even those in secrecy jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands and Delaware – provide basic information: entity name, number, status, and registration date.
But they differ on data that confirms ownership.
Some registers don’t collect shareholder information at all: Most provincial Canadian registers and the British Virgin Islands, for example.
Some registers do publish shareholder information, but it’s limited: Belgium publishes shareholder information incidentally in gazette publications, while the Cayman Islands only offers the founding shareholders of a company.
Other registers don’t make it available online, but by request: for example, shareholder information on UAE companies must be requested from local registration authorities. The same is true for Canadian companies registered in Alberta.
Many registers make ownership information freely available: UK Companies House, for example, as well as Italy’s Infocamere.
KYB Data Reliability
Official company registry data – that is, registry data pulled from government databases – is the most reliable data available. But it's not without faults.
Self-disclosures: Traditionally, company registries have been ‘librarians’, storing information that companies say about themselves without verifying it.
Data lags: California’s Secretary of State updates company information every 24 months in some cases, owing to reporting requirements.
Bad filings: Ireland’s CRO cannot remove an incorrect filing without a high court order.
But this is changing. As Kyckr CEO Steve said, many are becoming “gatekeepers” and actively verifying that information.
There are a few things to consider.
Company Registry Reliability Checklist
Does the registry connect to other government departments? The Netherlands’s KVK automatically cross-references business addresses from official land registries.
Verify corporate officer identities? The UK’s Companies House has introduced mandatory identity verification for company directors, ensuring the directors are who they say they are.
Strike off non-compliant businesses? Belgium’s CBE has sometimes purged the registry of non-compliant businesses – most notably, those that have failed to submit beneficial ownership information.
Detect anomalous activity? Singapore’s ACRA uses data analytics to detect suspicious activity from corporate service providers.
Make visible nominee status? Singapore makes the nominee shareholder’s status publicly visible.
This is important. Reliable data is the bedrock of audit-proof compliance.
Costs
Before using a company registry, you must know the associated costs of using it.
The general rule: Most registers offer a free basic search functionality, but downloading company filings usually costs money. This includes Cyprus, Guernsey, Germany’s Handelsregister, and many others.
Some are fully free: The UK’s Companies House and New Zealand’s Companies Office offer free advanced search, free company filings, free bulk data sets, and free APIs.
Some are pay-per-call: Canadian provinces, such as New Brunswick and British Columbia, offer a pay-per-call model, while sending a Search Request Form to the British Virgin Islands costs $50.
It’s a frustrating situation. We know because we manage 300 registry integrations from all over the world, with different currencies, sign-up forms, and credit cards.
Integrations
Integrating company registry data into a KYB workflow – whether by Application Programming Interface (API) or bulk data sets – is important for financial crime teams.
According to Business Registry Insights, nearly half of all company registers offer some form of publicly available API. But these differ.
Many APIs cost money: Belgium’s CBE costs €50 per 2,000 requests, while Singapore’s ACRA APIs require a subscription.
Some APIs are only available to domiciled entities: Italy’s Infocamere is a case in point, which means financial crime teams must turn to third-party KYB data providers.
Some APIs and bulk data sets are available for free: The UK’s Companies House and New Zealand’s Companies Office make everything freely available.
Setting up multiple API integrations to different company registers takes weeks – sometimes, months.
We know because we’ve been doing it for 18 years.
Kyckr gives access to 300+ Company Registers, 1 Integration
For teams managing verification across multiple jurisdictions, the complexity outlined above represents hundreds of hours of manual work annually.
Kyckr consolidates this access by providing real-time access to 300+ official company registries in 100 countries, either via API or online portal.
Trusted by top banks, law firms, and world-leading AML and KYB software providers, Kyckr provides verified, audit-proof company registry data from all over the world, in one place.
