# Know Your Business
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/merchant-identifier/documentation/use-cases/know-your-business/index.md

## Know Your Business {#know-your-business}

Unpacking a merchant's identity is a fundamental commercial need that extends well beyond regulatory obligation. Across industries, businesses have a wide range of reasons to verify merchant identity:

* Confirming that a merchant operates in the right category before onboarding them to a program
* Identifying which merchants are active within a specific geography
* Filtering merchant networks by business type
* Pulling foundational firmographics about a merchant for identity verification
* Protecting brand reputation by avoiding association with illegitimate entities
* Creating clear, auditable records of how commercial relationships were assessed and approved

The Merchant Identifier API helps resolve raw merchant information to verified merchant records -- complete with standardized name, category, location, and more -- adding an intelligent layer for accurate KYB processes.

This intelligence layer can help confirm that a merchant operates in an eligible category, within a specific geography or market segment. It can help verify that a business is legitimately categorized and has been operating for a period of time before approving a commercial relationship.

### Where it applies {#where-it-applies}

Various industry segments use enrichment-powered KYB processes for:

* **Identity Verification Companies** augment their capabilities with payment-derived insights.
* **Loyalty \& Rewards Providers** filter and verify merchants by category and location eligibility before admitting them to a program.
* **Agentic Commerce Platforms** verify the merchant behind every agent-initiated transaction in real time -- ensuring correct merchant, category, and location before a purchase is completed on a user's behalf.
* **Embedded Finance \& BNPL Platforms** confirm merchant eligibility by category and location before enabling financing at checkout, ensuring credit products are only activated at verified, eligible merchant entities.
* **Financial Institutions \& Acquirers** identify merchants operating within a specific region, category, or segment for portfolio analysis, reward programs, and more.