A retail FX or CFD broker cannot let a new client fund an account before checking who that client is. In most jurisdictions the check has to clear before the first deposit, not after, and the vendor behind it decides how many prospects actually reach a funded account and how much your compliance team reviews by hand. This guide looks at KYC providers for brokers by name: Sumsub, Onfido (now part of Entrust as Entrust Identity Verification), Veriff and Jumio, what each publishes about its own coverage and features, and what a broker specifically needs that a generic "best KYC tools" list often skips.
What we write about each vendor comes from what it publishes about itself. SGHK does not sell an identity verification product. Its Broker CRM integrates any KYC provider a firm already uses, or wants to move to, through its API, so this comparison is written from that position: the vendor is your choice, never a lock-in.
What a broker actually needs from a KYC vendor
A marketing page will tell you a vendor is fast and global. Four questions get closer to whether it fits a brokerage: how many countries and document types it actually covers, whether it screens for politically exposed persons and sanctions as part of the same flow rather than a separate add-on, whether it can verify a company as well as a person for introducing-broker and corporate accounts, and what happens to a client who fails the first attempt. A broker with clients across dozens of countries will hit edge cases a domestic fintech never sees: passports with no machine-readable zone, national IDs the vendor has never indexed, a corporate account with three layers of holding companies above the beneficial owner.
The short version
| Vendor | Coverage it publishes | AML / KYB | Strongest at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumsub | 14,000+ document types across 220+ countries and territories, around 20 seconds average verification | AML screening, Travel Rule for crypto payouts, Business Verification (KYB) built into the same platform | One platform covering KYC, KYB, AML screening and crypto Travel Rule together |
| Onfido (Entrust) | Document and biometric verification with workflow orchestration across document, biometric and data-source checks | Liveness and deepfake detection built into the verification flow | Now part of Entrust's identity security portfolio, sold as Entrust Identity Verification |
| Veriff | 12,500+ ID documents across 230+ countries and territories, around 6 seconds average verification | Screens against sanctions and PEP lists including OFAC, UN, HMT, EU and DFAT; KYB added through its acquisition of Vespia | Passive liveness detection and fraud signal analysis across device and network data |
| Jumio | 5,000+ physical and digital ID document types across 200 countries and territories | PEP and sanctions screening for KYC, AML and BSA compliance | Document forgery and tamper detection, including checks physical-ID scanners often miss, such as hole punches |
1. Sumsub
Sumsub verifies more than 14,000 document types across 220+ countries and territories, with an average verification time of around 20 seconds on its own figures. Alongside standard document and selfie checks, it offers non-documentary verification, which cross-checks a user's identity data against government or other databases instead of asking for a document upload, video identification with a live agent for higher-risk cases, and NFC reading of e-passports and e-ID cards. Its Business Verification product runs corporate registry checks, ownership and control mapping, ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) verification, AML screening and corporate document review from the same dashboard used for individual KYC. Sumsub also publishes a Travel Rule product for crypto payouts and a Device Intelligence feature that reads browser, hardware and network signals to flag the same device or network behind several accounts, useful for a broker worried about bonus abuse or one trader running multiple accounts under different names.
2. Onfido, now Entrust Identity Verification
Entrust completed its acquisition of Onfido in 2024, and Onfido's identity verification technology is now sold as Entrust Identity Verification. The product combines document verification and biometric face matching with liveness detection built to catch deepfakes, video injection and masks, and it can combine document checks, biometric checks and trusted data sources into a single configurable verification flow. A broker evaluating "Onfido" today is really evaluating an Entrust product, so it is worth checking the current documentation and contract under the Entrust name rather than assuming Onfido's older standalone terms still apply.
3. Veriff
Veriff covers more than 12,500 identity documents across 230+ countries and territories, with an average verification time it puts at around 6 seconds and a 98% check automation rate on its own figures. Its liveness check is passive: no head turns or blinking on request, with a response Veriff says lands in under a second, and it runs fraud analysis across more than 1,000 device, network and behavioral data points per check. For AML, it screens against sanctions and PEP watchlists including OFAC, UN, HMT, EU and DFAT, and against more than 150 million adverse-media sources. Veriff added a dedicated KYB product through its acquisition of Vespia, an Estonia-based business-verification provider, extending its coverage from individual identity into company verification across a large set of jurisdictions. Its Fraud Protect package also blocks banned users by device, network and face, which matters to a broker that has already had to close an account for abuse and does not want that person back under a new email.
4. Jumio
Jumio covers more than 5,000 physical and digital ID document types across 200 countries and territories. It authenticates a document by checking security features such as holograms, fonts and machine-readable zones, and it uses computer vision to catch forgery, tampering and synthetic IDs, including physical tampering that some scanners miss, such as hole punches on a driver's licence or passport. Its liveness check compares a live selfie against the document photo in real time, and it screens for PEPs and sanctions as part of KYC, AML and BSA compliance workflows. Jumio publishes over 1 billion identity verifications processed on its own site, and it integrates through iOS and Android SDKs, a web API, webcams and SMS-based flows.
KYB matters if you take corporate or introducing-broker accounts
A broker that opens accounts for companies, or runs an introducing-broker program with its own onboarding, needs business verification (KYC vs KYB is a different check, not the same one run twice), covering the registered company, its ownership structure and its ultimate beneficial owners. Sumsub built this into the same platform as its individual KYC product. Veriff added it through its acquisition of Vespia. Neither vendor's public KYB coverage should be assumed to match its individual KYC coverage country for country, so this is worth confirming for your specific client base before signing.
AML screening is not the same feature as identity verification
Verifying that a document is real and that the selfie matches it is one check. Screening the name against sanctions lists, PEP databases and adverse media is a separate one, and a broker under FCA, CySEC or similar oversight needs both running on every client, at onboarding and again later as watchlists update. See our AML screening tools compared and AML basics for trading firms for how this fits into a wider compliance policy, and broker KYC compliance for how the check ties into your licence conditions.
Fitting a vendor into your existing stack
Most brokers do not want to rebuild their onboarding flow to fit a KYC vendor's SDK. SGHK's Broker CRM integrates any KYC provider by API, so a firm already running Sumsub, Veriff, Jumio or another vendor keeps that relationship and that pricing when it moves CRM, rather than being pushed onto whatever the new CRM bundles in. That also means switching KYC vendor later, if coverage or terms change, does not mean switching CRM at the same time.
How to choose
Start from your actual client geography, not the vendor's headline country count. Ask each vendor for its pass rate and average review time in the specific countries where most of your leads come from, not a global average. If you take corporate accounts, ask to see the KYB flow before you sign, not after. And if AML screening is not included by default, get the add-on cost and scope in writing rather than assuming it is bundled. A short pilot with real applicants from your top three markets tells you more than any comparison table, including this one. Book a call if you want to talk through how a KYC vendor plugs into eTrader and the Broker CRM: book an intro call.
"A broker should be able to change its KYC vendor without touching its CRM. That is why our Broker CRM connects to any provider a firm chooses, by API."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- Sumsub, Onfido (now Entrust Identity Verification), Veriff and Jumio each publish document and country coverage figures; check them against your actual client geography, not the global headline number.
- Identity verification and AML screening (PEP and sanctions) are separate checks; confirm both are covered rather than assuming the document check alone satisfies your licence conditions.
- Corporate and introducing-broker accounts need KYB, a different check from individual KYC; Sumsub and Veriff both publish a KYB product.
- SGHK's Broker CRM integrates any KYC provider by API, so the vendor choice and the CRM choice do not have to move together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best KYC provider for a forex or CFD broker?
There is no single answer that fits every broker; it depends on the countries your clients come from and whether you need KYB for corporate accounts. Sumsub and Veriff both publish combined KYC and KYB platforms with AML screening built in. Onfido, now sold as Entrust Identity Verification, and Jumio focus on document and biometric identity verification, with Jumio's public materials centered on individual document and biometric checks rather than business verification. Test each vendor against real applicants from your top markets before committing.
Is Onfido still called Onfido?
Entrust completed its acquisition of Onfido in 2024, and the identity verification product is now sold as Entrust Identity Verification. A broker evaluating a contract under the Onfido name should confirm current terms and documentation under Entrust.
Do I need a separate AML screening tool if I already have a KYC vendor?
Check what is included. Document verification confirms a person is who they say they are; AML screening checks that name against sanctions lists, PEP databases and adverse media, and it needs to keep running after onboarding as watchlists change. Sumsub and Veriff both publish AML screening as part of their platforms; confirm whether it is included or a paid add-on before you sign.
Can I use a KYC provider with SGHK's Broker CRM?
Yes. The Broker CRM connects to any KYC provider by API, so a firm keeps the vendor it already uses, or picks a new one independently of its CRM choice.
About SGHK
SGHK is a FinTech company that designs and builds its own software for the trading industry: the eTrader trading platform, Launch your Broker and Launch your Prop Firm. Every product is written, hosted and supported in-house and licensed to trading firms, with the CRMs branded to them, all hosted by us in the cloud, managed by each firm and built to scale across clustered servers as our clients grow. Everything is encrypted, and each firm is the only one with access to its data and its clients' data.