Know Your Customer (KYC) in the United Kingdom

Modified on: Thu, 18 Jul, 2024 at 1:17 AM

What is Know Your Customer (KYC)?

If you have built an A2P communications solution, you will be familiar with Know Your Customer (KYC) data. Originating from the banking industry, KYC is essentially customer information that is required to identify and verify an individual or business is who they say they are and commonly consists of name, address, and date of birth for Individuals and company name, registered address, business verification documents, etc for businesses. Over the past decade, carriers and regulators around the world have been working hard to create a more trusted and verified messaging and voice ecosystem for businesses to engage with consumers to protect consumers from spam, fraud, and bad actors.

The first step the global communications industry is taking to protect consumers is requiring businesses and organizations to submit their KYC information and become verified by the local authorities before they can begin texting or calling their customers. Currently, not all countries require KYC information, but as the communications industry evolves it is becoming more common.

KYC Requirements in the United Kingdom

Given the rise in scam and fraud over the last few years, the UK regulator issued updated Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines.

These new requirements will be put in place to protect consumers from fraud, spam, and bad actors by requiring businesses to submit and verify their businesses.

Here are the timelines to note:

Starting May 27, 2024 all new Long Codes purchases will require an approved Regulatory Compliance (RC) bundle before buying.
Starting July 30, 2024 SMS Sent from International Long Codes to the UK Will Be Blocked.
Starting September 30, 2024 all new and existing UK long codes must be connected to an approved UK RC bundle to be able to send messages or make voice calls.

This regulation is only applicable for the UK Long Codes which include local, national, mobile, and toll-free phone numbers.

What KYC information will be required for businesses in the UK?

Individual: Local or National

Information Required	Documentation Required	Acceptable Documentation One of the following
Name	Proof of Identity	Government-issued ID Passport
UK Address Must be a valid United Kingdom address.	Proof Of Address	Government-issued ID showing local address Utility bill Tax notice Rent receipt Title deed
UK Emergency Address (if different from the address provided above) Must be a valid United Kingdom address.	No documentation required
Date of Birth	No documentation required
Phone Number This must be a valid mobile number only where the customer can be reached. This cannot be a number which you've acquired from a CPaaS provider.	No documentation required
Email	No documentation required
Comments (optional)	No documentation required

Individual: Mobile or Toll Free

Information Required	Documentation Required	Acceptable Documentation One of the following
Name	Proof Of Identity	Government-issued ID Passport
Address Must be a valid address. May be anywhere in the world.	No documentation Required
Emergency Address (If different from the address provided above) Must be a valid address. May be anywhere in the world.	No documentation Required
Date of Birth	No documentation required
Phone Number This must be a valid mobile number only where the customer can be reached. This cannot be a number which you've acquired from a CPaaS provider.	No documentation required
Email	No documentation required
Comments (optional)	No documentation required

Business: Local or National

Information Required	Required Documentation	Acceptable Documentation
Business Name	Proof of Identity (Documentation is required for businesses not using a UK Companies House Registration Number)	Excerpt from the commercial register
Registration Authority	Proof of Identity (Documentation is required for businesses not using a UK Companies House Registration Number)	Excerpt from the commercial register
Business Registration Number	Proof of Identity(Documentation is required for businesses not using a UK Companies House Registration Number)	Excerpt from the commercial register
Website Address	No documentation required
UK Business Address Must be a valid United Kingdom address	No documentation required
UK Emergency Address (If different from UK Business address) Must be a valid United Kingdom address	No documentation required
Authorized Representative's* Name This must be a valid mobile number only where the customer can be reached. This cannot be a number which you've acquired from a CPaaS provider.	No documentation required
Authorized Representative's Work Email	No documentation required
Business Classification Direct Customer - My business uses GHL to communicate internally or with our customers. Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Reseller, or Partner - My business uses GHL in a product that I sell to my customers.	No documentation required
If you are an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), will you assign the GHL phone number(s) to your end customers? (Yes/No)	No documentation required
Comments (optional)	No documentation required

*Authorized representative should be a senior person in the company who is responsible for Phone Numbers.

Business: Mobile or Toll Free

Information Required	Required Documentation	Acceptable Documentation
Business Name	Proof of Identity (Documentation is required for businesses not using a UK Companies House Registration Number)	Excerpt from the commercial register
Registration Authority (Name of entity where your business is registered if it is not UK Companies House)	Proof of Identity (Documentation is required for businesses not using a UK Companies House Registration Number)	Excerpt from the commercial register
Business Registration Number	Proof of Identity (Documentation is required for businesses not using a UK Companies House Registration Number)	Excerpt from the commercial register
Website address	No documentation required
Business Address Must be a valid address. May be anywhere in the world	No documentation required
Emergency Address (if different from business address) May be a valid address. May be anywhere in the world	No documentation required
Authorized Representative's* Name	No documentation required
Authorized Representative Phone Number This must be a valid mobile number only where the customer can be reached. This cannot be a number which you've acquired from a CPaaS provider.	No documentation required
Authorized Representative's Work Email	No documentation required
Business Classification: Direct Customer - My business uses GHL to communicate internally or with our customers. Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Reseller, or Partner - My business uses GHL in a product that I sell to my customers.	No documentation required
If you are an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), will you assign the GHL phone number(s) to your end customer(s)? (Yes/No)	No documentation required
Comments (optional)

*Authorized representative should be a senior manager in the company who is responsible for phone numbers.

What you need to do?

Follow these steps if you're a console user:

1. Prepare for the change in requirements and start collecting the required information and documents on your end.

2. Start submitting the KYC information through the GHL console.

3. Once you submit the RC bundles, GHL will review the details and approve or reject the bundles.

4. If your bundle is rejected, GHL will share reject reason, please understand the reason and resubmit with the appropriate information and get your bundle approved.

5. If you have any new UK long code purchases coming up after May 27, 2024, please get your RC bundle approved proactively to avoid disruption to your services.

6. After May 27, 2024, if you buy a new UK long code, you will be required to connect an approved bundle before buying.

7. All UK long codes which were purchased before May 27, 2024 will need to be attached to an approved RC bundle by September 30, 2024 to avoid service interruptions, we would encourage you to proactively connect all your long codes to approved RC bundles after May 27, 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Will there be any fees for registering my UK long codes?
No, there is no fees to register UK long codes

I am an individual customer and I don’t have the required identity or address document, what do I do?
Unfortunately, you will not be able to use GHL’s UK long codes without proper documentation

I am a business customer and I don’t have the company documents, what do I do?
If your business is registered in the UK house register, then you don’t need to upload your documentation, just provide the information which we will verify. If you are not registered in the UK then please reach out to us.

What do you mean by emergency address?
Physical address of the actual user of the GHL Phone Number where emergency services can send help in case of an emergency

My business is not registered in the UK, which long codes am I eligible to use?
You should use UK Mobile or UK Toll Free numbers

My business is not registered, what do i do?
We encourage you to register your business.

I have multiple RC bundles and many numbers, what logic should I use to assign phone numbers to RC bundles?
You should not have duplicate RC bundles, each RC bundle should have unique details. Assign the RC bundles to the Phone number that align with the bundle details. Ex: a phone number used from the London office, so the appropriate RC bundle should be assigned.

What happens to my messaging or voice solutions if I do not submit my KYC information?
Unfortunately GHL customers will not be able to buy new UK Longcodes without an approved UK RC bundle after May 27, 2024,. Existing numbers purchased before 27 May which do not have a KYC bundle by 30th September will have all traffic blocked.

Are the Ofcom regulatory guidelines open to the public?
Absolutely, Ofcom released the guidelines to the public on November 15, 2022. You can access them by clicking on this link.