KYC

I was looking at the internet job sites today and saw a job for a "KYC Manager". I didn't have a clue what it meant. I asked my colleagues. None of them had a clue what it meant.

So I looked it up on the invaluable Acronym Finder website and found that it means "Know Your Customer".

I assumed it was some sort of American business theory jargon, but it turns out to be a fairly official term in the US in the export and financial sectors.

For the export sector it appears to be aimed at making sure exporters know their customer and are not sending our goods which could end up in places where they should not be exported, especially if it is has military possibilities.

For the financial sector it is more to do with avoiding money-laundering and fraud.

Some people were worried when these initiatives were brought in, especially on the financial side. I think it was the requirements for banks to analyse trends and historical behaviour so they can identify potentially fraudulent transactions when they happen and possible infringements of privacy which would be needed to do that.

Its all above my head anyway. Every time I look there is a new regulation or management system to come to terms with, whether it is Sarbane-Oxley or CMMI. I just thought that KYC had a nice ring to it and would make a great name for a band.

The initials are just obscure enough that everyone will have their own idea of what they stand for.

I think that KYC would be a thinking-person's rock band. Like REM maybe.