📚 KYC GLOSSARY · A–Z REFERENCE
The Complete KYC, AML & FCC Glossary
Every Term You’ll Hear in Tier-1 Interviews
120+ definitions covering KYC, AML, sanctions, transaction monitoring, regulatory frameworks, and crypto compliance — written in the way hiring managers at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Macquarie, Barclays, TD Securities, BNY, State Street, M&G, Fidelity International, HSBC, and Emirates NBD actually use them.
120+Definitions
26Letters A–Z
15Min Read
2026Global Edition
Reference for KYC, AML & FCC roles at: Goldman Sachs · JPMorgan · Morgan Stanley · Macquarie · Barclays · TD Securities · BofA · Citi · HSBC · BNY · State Street · Fidelity International · M&G · Broadridge · Emirates NBD · Revolut
Every senior KYC, AML, and FCC interview tests vocabulary fluency. Hiring managers at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie, Barclays, TD Securities, BofA, Citi, HSBC, BNY, State Street, Fidelity International, M&G, Broadridge, Emirates NBD, and Revolut probe how naturally a candidate moves between concepts — sanctions vs PEP, CDD vs EDD, suspicion vs proof, structuring vs layering, ongoing monitoring vs periodic review. Candidates who use the right term in the right place sound like they’ve done the work; candidates who hesitate or substitute generic words signal inexperience.
This glossary covers 120+ terms across nine domains: foundational KYC, AML programme components, screening, transaction monitoring, regulatory frameworks, beneficial-ownership and corporate structures, source-of-funds, crypto / VASP compliance, and SAR/STR filing. Each definition is written in plain English with the practical nuance that’s actually tested. Use it as a pre-interview ramp-up, a vocabulary check during study, or a reference when reading regulatory guidance.
How to use this glossary
Skim in alphabetical order on first read to map the territory. Then bookmark and return when you encounter unfamiliar terms in regulatory documents, vendor materials, or interview prep. For interview practice, pick 10 terms at random and explain each out loud in 30–45 seconds — the same delivery rhythm an interviewer expects when probing concept fluency.
A
A — Adverse Media to AUSTRAC
| Adverse Media | Negative news, regulatory actions, court records, or investigative journalism about a customer, UBO, or counterparty — a leading indicator of risk that surfaces before formal sanctions or enforcement. |
| AML | Anti-Money Laundering. The framework of laws, regulations, policies, controls, and investigations that detects and disrupts the disguising of illicit funds as legitimate income. |
| AML / CFT | The combined Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism programme. Most banks operate AML and CFT as a unified programme. |
| AMLA | The EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority — the new EU-wide AML supervisor enforcing harmonised standards across member states from 2026. |
| AMLD | EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The 6th AMLD harmonises criminal liability for money-laundering offences across EU member states. |
| ADGM | Abu Dhabi Global Market — the financial free zone in the UAE with its own AML regulator and supervisory framework. |
| Articles of Association | The constitutional document of a company — rules governing internal management, share classes, director powers. Reviewed during corporate KYC onboarding. |
| AUSTRAC | Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre — Australia’s AML regulator and FIU. |
B
B — Beneficial Owner to BSA
| Beneficial Owner (UBO) | The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a customer entity, typically through 25%+ direct or indirect ownership, voting control, or other control mechanisms. Identified during CDD and EDD. |
| Beneficial Ownership Register | National registries (UK Persons of Significant Control, EU central beneficial-ownership registers, US FinCEN BOI database) that record UBO information for entities incorporated in that jurisdiction. |
| BOI Reporting | Beneficial Ownership Information reporting. Under the US Corporate Transparency Act, most US-formed entities must file BOI reports with FinCEN. |
| BSA | Bank Secrecy Act — the foundational US AML legislation administered by FinCEN. Establishes SAR filing, CTR filing, and recordkeeping requirements. |
| Business Risk Assessment | Enterprise-level assessment of money-laundering risk across the bank’s customer base, products, channels, and geographies. Drives RBA programme calibration. |
C
C — CAMS to CTR
| CAMS | Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist — a credential designed for AML investigations, transaction monitoring, SAR filing, and FCC roles. Best fit for AML-track candidates, indirect signal for pure KYC roles. |
| C2KO | Certified Crypto KYC Officer — a credential specifically built for crypto / VASP KYC operations including Travel Rule, on-chain forensics, and wallet screening. |
| C3O | Certified Crypto Compliance Officer — broader crypto-compliance scope across KYC, AML, sanctions, and regulatory pieces in a unified VASP context. |
| CDD | Customer Due Diligence — the standard KYC process for identifying customers, verifying identity, identifying UBOs, understanding nature of business, and assessing risk. |
| CFT | Countering Financing of Terrorism — the regulatory framework targeting funding flows to terrorist organisations, run in parallel to AML. |
| Companies House | The UK official register of companies. Source of incorporation data, director details, and PSC (Persons of Significant Control) records used during corporate KYC. |
| Correspondent Banking | A relationship where one bank provides services (USD clearing, payments) to another. FATF R13 mandates EDD on cross-border correspondent banking. |
| CTR | Currency Transaction Report — mandatory US filing for cash transactions above $10,000. Distinct from SARs but feeds into the same FinCEN intelligence pipeline. |
D
D — DAML to DPR
| DAML | Defence Against Money Laundering — a UK NCA mechanism allowing a regulated firm to seek consent before completing a potentially-suspicious transaction, providing protection from money-laundering offence liability. |
| DFSA | Dubai Financial Services Authority — the regulator for the DIFC free zone. Operates its own AML Module mandatory for DIFC-licensed firms. |
| DIFC | Dubai International Financial Centre — the financial free zone in Dubai with its own legal system and DFSA regulatory framework. |
| Disposition | The decision made on a screening alert, transaction-monitoring alert, or investigation file — clear, escalate, file SAR, or apply customer-level action. Always documented with rationale. |
| DPR | Detailed Profile Record — AGZIT’s structured candidate profile combining role-targeting, experience, certifications, and skill-gap mapping for KYC and AML career planning. |
E
E — EDD to ESG Risk
| EDD | Enhanced Due Diligence — intensified KYC scrutiny applied to high-risk customers. Includes full SoF/SoW reconstruction, multi-language adverse media, senior approval, and enhanced ongoing monitoring. |
| EU Sanctions | Restrictive measures imposed by the EU Council. Maintained on the EU Consolidated List, applicable across all member states. |
| Escalation | The structured movement of a case from Level 1 triage to Level 2 investigation or Level 3 SAR consideration. Each escalation step carries documented rationale. |
| ESG Risk | Environmental, Social, and Governance risk — increasingly screened during onboarding and adverse-media monitoring at tier-1 banks, especially for corporate and HNW customers. |
F
F — False Positive to Funnel Account
| False Positive | A screening alert that doesn’t represent a genuine match — common name overlaps, transliteration ambiguity, or partial matches that fail secondary identifier checks. |
| FATF | Financial Action Task Force — the global standard-setter for AML and CFT. Publishes 40+9 Recommendations, grey-list and black-list designations, and typology studies. |
| FATCA | Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act — US legislation requiring foreign financial institutions to report on US-person customers. Adjacent to but distinct from AML. |
| FCA | Financial Conduct Authority — the UK regulator supervising AML compliance for banks and investment firms under MLR 2017 and SMCR. |
| FCC | Financial Crime Compliance — the broader function within a bank covering AML, sanctions, fraud, anti-bribery, and tax-evasion controls. |
| FinCEN | Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — the US AML regulator and FIU. Receives SAR and CTR filings under the BSA. |
| FIU | Financial Intelligence Unit — the national body receiving SAR/STR filings. FinCEN (US), NCA (UK), FIU-IND (India), FIU.ae (UAE), STRO (Singapore), JFIU (Hong Kong), FINTRAC (Canada). |
| FIU-IND | Financial Intelligence Unit-India — receives STR filings under PMLA via the FINnet 2.0 portal. |
| FINTRAC | Canada’s FIU and AML regulator under PCMLTFA. |
| Funnel Account | A money-laundering typology where multiple inbound wires from different jurisdictions are consolidated into a single account with rapid outbound movement — classic layering pattern. |
G
G — G-CAMO to GO-AKS
| G-CAMO | Globally Certified AML Officer — an AML-management credential designed for AML programme governance and senior AML investigation roles. |
| GIFT City | Gujarat International Finance Tec-City — India’s international financial-services hub in Gandhinagar, hosting fund administrators, insurance, and banking-unit operations. |
| goAML | The UNODC-developed reporting platform used by FIUs across most EU member states, the UAE (FIU.ae), and other jurisdictions for STR submission. |
| GO-AKS | Globally Certified KYC Specialist — the foundation-level KYC credential. Direct fit for KYC analyst, CDD associate, and onboarding-analyst roles at tier-1 KPOs and bank GCCs. |
| Grey List | FATF designation for jurisdictions under increased monitoring due to AML/CFT deficiencies. Customers and counterparties exposed to grey-list jurisdictions trigger enhanced risk treatment. |
H
H — High-Risk Customer to HKMA
| High-Risk Customer | A customer category automatically requiring EDD — PEPs, complex structures, cash-intensive businesses, correspondent banks, NPOs, VASPs, shell companies, HNW/UHNW private banking clients. |
| HNW / UHNW | High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth — private banking customer tiers, typically $5M+ for HNW and $10M+ for UHNW depending on the bank’s thresholds. |
| HKMA | Hong Kong Monetary Authority — the AML regulator for banks in Hong Kong under the AMLO framework. |
I
I — I-CAMM to IR-KAM
| I-CAMM | Internationally Certified AML Manager — an AML manager-track credential focused on TM leadership, investigations management, and SAR-quality oversight. |
| IKYCA | Internationally Certified KYC Specialist — the senior-analyst-level KYC credential covering complex structures, high-risk categories, and multi-jurisdictional regulation. |
| Identity Verification (IDV) | The process of confirming a customer’s claimed identity using passports, national IDs, biometric matching, or third-party identity-verification providers. |
| Integration | The third stage of money laundering — laundered funds re-enter the legitimate economy as apparently clean wealth, indistinguishable from lawful income. |
| IR-KAM | Internationally Certified KYC Manager — the manager-track KYC credential for team-lead, manager, and KYC-governance roles. |
J
J — JFIU to Jurisdictional Risk
| JFIU | Joint Financial Intelligence Unit — Hong Kong’s FIU receiving STR filings under AMLO. |
| Jurisdictional Risk | The country-level risk dimension in customer risk rating — FATF grey- and black-list status, Transparency International CPI ranking, and bank-policy high-risk designations. |
K
K — Know Your Customer to KYC Refresh
| Know Your Customer (KYC) | The end-to-end discipline of identifying customers, verifying identity, capturing UBOs, assessing risk, and monitoring activity throughout the customer lifecycle. |
| KYC-on-KYC | Due-diligence approach for correspondent banking — assessing the respondent bank’s own AML programme rather than the respondent’s underlying customers directly. |
| KYC Refresh | Periodic update of a customer’s KYC profile to maintain currency — typically annually for high-risk, every 2–3 years for medium, every 5 years for low. Event-triggered refresh on material changes. |
L
L — Layering to LEI
| Layering | The second stage of money laundering — obscuring audit trails through multi-hop transactions, shell companies, offshore structures, or crypto cycling. |
| LEI | Legal Entity Identifier — a 20-character alphanumeric identifier for financial-market participants. Increasingly used in cross-border transactions and corporate KYC reference data. |
M
M — MAS to MLR 2017
| MACS | Multi-jurisdictional AML & Compliance Specialist — a credential covering AML across multiple jurisdictions for tier-1 banks and FCC officers in regional hub roles. |
| MAS | Monetary Authority of Singapore — the AML regulator for Singapore-licensed institutions. Operates under MAS Notice 626. |
| MCA | Ministry of Corporate Affairs — India’s corporate registry, source of company incorporation and director data used in Indian KYC onboarding. |
| MLRO | Money Laundering Reporting Officer — the senior named individual responsible for the bank’s AML programme. Carries personal regulatory liability under SMCR and equivalent regimes. |
| MLR 2017 | UK Money Laundering Regulations 2017 — the operational framework for UK AML compliance, supervised by the FCA and HMRC. |
N
N — NCA to NPO
| NCA | UK National Crime Agency — receives SAR filings via the SAR Online portal and operates the UK FIU function. |
| NOB | Nature of Business — the customer&rsquo>s declared business activity captured during onboarding. Becomes a baseline for transaction-monitoring expectations. |
| Nominee Arrangement | A legal structure where the nominee holds shares or assets on behalf of an undisclosed beneficial owner. Triggers enhanced UBO scrutiny because the registered party isn’t the controlling party. |
| NPO | Non-Profit Organisation — a high-risk customer category under FATF R8, particularly for cross-border activity or operations adjacent to designated terrorist groups. |
O
O — OFAC to Ongoing Monitoring
| OFAC | Office of Foreign Assets Control — the US sanctions regulator. Maintains the SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list and enforces the 50% Rule for beneficial-ownership extension. |
| OFSI | Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation — the UK sanctions regulator under HM Treasury. Maintains the UK Consolidated List. |
| On-Chain Forensics | Blockchain analytics that trace cryptocurrency wallet activity, mixer exposure, and chain-hop patterns. Critical for VASP and crypto-customer KYC and AML. |
| Ongoing Monitoring | Continuous review of customer activity against expected profile, plus periodic re-screening for sanctions, PEP, and adverse media. Distinct from scheduled periodic review. |
P
P — PEP to PSC
| PEP | Politically Exposed Person — under FATF R12, includes Foreign PEPs (always high-risk), Domestic PEPs (risk-based), International Organisation PEPs, plus all RCAs. Triggers automatic EDD. |
| Periodic Review | Scheduled refresh of a customer’s KYC file based on risk-rating cadence. Differs from event-triggered review which fires on material change. |
| Placement | The first stage of money laundering — introducing illicit funds into the financial system, typically as cash, asset purchases, or value conversion. |
| PMLA | Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 — India’s primary AML legislation. Operationalised via RBI Master Direction on KYC and FIU-IND reporting. |
| PSC | Persons of Significant Control — the UK’s beneficial-ownership disclosure regime under Companies House. |
Q
Q — QA Sampling to Quality Assurance
| QA Sampling | Random sampling of analyst output (CDD files, EDD memos, alert dispositions) to assess accuracy and provide coaching feedback. Typically 5–10% sampling rate at tier-1 KPOs and bank GCCs. |
| Quality Assurance (QA) | The function reviewing analyst output for accuracy, completeness, and rationale quality. Drives accuracy KPIs alongside productivity KPIs. |
R
R — RBA to RFI
| RBA | Risk-Based Approach — FATF R1 principle that compliance resources, controls, and scrutiny must be allocated in proportion to assessed risk, not uniformly. |
| RBI | Reserve Bank of India — the AML regulator for Indian banks. Issues the Master Direction on KYC. |
| RCA | Relative or Close Associate — family members and business associates of PEPs, themselves treated as PEPs under FATF R12. |
| Reasonable Suspicion | The legal threshold for SAR filing — substantially lower than proof or probable cause. Activity inconsistent with KYC baseline that cannot be reconciled to legitimate rationale meets the threshold. |
| Regulatory Reporting | The structured submission of compliance data to regulators — SAR/STR, CTR, BOI, FATCA, CRS, and other periodic regulatory filings. |
| RFI | Request for Information — structured outreach to a customer, RM, or third party for additional documentation needed to complete CDD or EDD. |
S
S — SAR to Structuring
| SAR | Suspicious Activity Report — the confidential filing made by a regulated firm to its FIU when reasonable suspicion is formed. Used in US (FinCEN) and UK (NCA). |
| Sanctions | Restrictive measures imposed by governments or international bodies (UN, EU, OFAC, OFSI) prohibiting transactions with designated persons or jurisdictions. |
| SDN List | Specially Designated Nationals list — OFAC’s primary US sanctions list. Customers on the SDN list cannot be onboarded or maintained without specific licensing. |
| Shell Company | An entity with no commercial substance — no employees, no physical premises, minimal financial history. Frequently used in layering-stage money laundering. |
| SMCR | Senior Managers & Certification Regime — the UK accountability framework imposing personal regulatory liability on named senior individuals including MLROs. |
| SoF / SoW | Source of Funds (the immediate origin of the specific funds entering the relationship) and Source of Wealth (the historical accumulation of the customer’s overall wealth). Required for EDD. |
| STR | Suspicious Transaction Report — the equivalent of a SAR in jurisdictions including India, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, and most EU member states. |
| STRO | Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office — Singapore’s FIU under the Commercial Affairs Department. |
| Structuring | Breaking transactions into amounts deliberately below regulatory reporting thresholds to evade detection. A predicate offence in itself under most regimes. |
T
T — TBML to Travel Rule
| TBML | Trade-Based Money Laundering — using over- or under-invoicing, phantom shipments, or falsified Bills of Lading to move illicit value across borders under cover of legitimate trade. |
| Tipping-Off | The criminal offence of informing a SAR subject that a SAR has been filed, or disclosing information that might prejudice an investigation. Carries individual liability. |
| TM | Transaction Monitoring — the continuous automated screening of customer activity against expected-profile baselines and typology rule libraries. |
| Travel Rule | FATF R16 requirement that originator and beneficiary information accompany cross-border wire transfers. Extended to crypto VASPs since 2022. |
| True Positive | A screening alert that does represent a genuine match — sanctioned party, confirmed PEP, real adverse-media exposure. Triggers escalation, EDD, and potentially relationship action. |
| Typology | A recognised pattern of how money laundering or terrorist financing actually happens (structuring, funnel account, TBML, shell-company layering, crypto cycling). FIUs publish typology studies. |
U
U — UBO to UN Sanctions
| UBO | Ultimate Beneficial Owner — the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a customer entity, typically through 25%+ ownership or other control mechanisms. |
| UN Sanctions | Restrictive measures imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Mandatory for UN member states; enforced nationally via OFAC, OFSI, EU, MAS, and equivalent regulators. |
V
V — VASP to Velocity
| VASP | Virtual Asset Service Provider — crypto exchanges, wallet providers, custodians, and payment processors handling virtual assets. Subject to FATF R15 and Travel Rule compliance. |
| Velocity | Transaction frequency over a defined window. A core dimension in transaction monitoring — sudden velocity changes versus expected baseline are common alert triggers. |
W–Z
W – Z — Wallet Screening to Zero-Knowledge
| Wallet Screening | Pre-transaction risk assessment of crypto wallet addresses against sanctions exposure, mixer association, ransomware-payment history, and other illicit flows. |
| Watchlist | A consolidated list of sanctioned, PEP, or adverse-media-flagged individuals and entities used in screening. Sourced from OFAC, OFSI, EU, UN, and commercial vendors like World-Check, Dow Jones, LexisNexis, Refinitiv. |
| White List | An internal list of customer-to-alert pairings previously cleared as false positives, retained with rationale and re-audit dates to reduce repeat alert noise. |
| World-Check | Refinitiv’s widely-used sanctions, PEP, and adverse-media screening database, deployed at most tier-1 banks and major KPOs. |
| Zero-Knowledge Proof | A cryptographic technique where one party proves knowledge of a value without revealing the value itself. Increasingly relevant in crypto KYC and identity-verification contexts. |
How to Use This Glossary in Interview Prep
Vocabulary fluency is the easiest part of interview prep to over-prepare and the easiest to under-prepare. The candidates who land senior offers can move between concepts naturally — a question about PEP screening flows into RCA, family-tree mapping, EDD calibration, and adverse-media refresh without missing a beat. That fluency comes from reading these terms repeatedly and using them out loud, not from rote memorisation.
The 30-day glossary fluency plan
Days 1–7: Read the entire glossary once a day, alphabetically. Don’t memorise — just absorb. Pay attention to terms you’ve heard but couldn’t define cleanly.
Days 8–14: Pick 5 random terms each day and explain each one out loud in 30–45 seconds. Record yourself. Compare delivery to the definition here.
Days 15–21: Pair related terms (CDD vs EDD, Placement vs Layering vs Integration, SAR vs STR, Foreign PEP vs Domestic PEP) and practise transitioning between them.
Days 22–30: Use AGZIT’s voice-based AI Mock Interview to simulate the senior interviewer flow. The 10-dimension Scorecard will surface any vocabulary gaps that still show up under interview pressure.
Choosing the Right Credential for Your Target Role
Match the credential to the role — not the most-recognised name
If your day-to-day is genuinely AML — transaction monitoring, alert investigation, SAR/STR filing, financial-crime programme work — an AML-focused credential like CAMS fits. If your role is pure KYC — onboarding, CDD, EDD, UBO tracing, screening disposition — KYC-specific credentials like GO-AKS (Globally Certified KYC Specialist), IKYCA (Internationally Certified KYC Specialist), and IR-KAM (Internationally Certified KYC Manager) signal direct role fit faster. For crypto / VASP roles: C2KO, C3O, C2AO are the focused credentials. Pick by role match, not reputation.
Related Reading
- Best KYC Certifications for 2026: Pick by Role Match
- The Complete KYC Tools & Platforms Guide
- Top 100 KYC Interview Questions & Model Answers
- Top 20 AML Interview Questions & Model Answers
- AML Explained: What Anti-Money Laundering Actually Is
- Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Explained
- Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) Guide
- The Risk-Based Approach (RBA) in KYC
📚 FLUENCY WINS INTERVIEWS
Practise the Vocabulary Out Loud — Not Just on the Page
Senior KYC and AML interviewers test concept fluency, not flashcard recall. Practise these 120+ terms out loud on AGZIT’s voice-based AI Mock Interview, with the 10-dimension Scorecard surfacing exactly which terms still need work — calibrated to roles at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Macquarie, Barclays, TD Securities, BNY, State Street, M&G, Fidelity International, HSBC, and Emirates NBD.
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