Many companies hesitate when it comes to KYC (Know Your Customer) and open banking. They’ve heard that it’s risky, complicated, expensive, or only for big players. Others assume it’s something regulators force on them rather than a tool that can actually help their business grow.
The truth? Much of what you’ve heard about KYC and open banking is outdated, or simply wrong. These misconceptions keep businesses stuck with slow onboarding, incomplete risk assessments, and missed opportunities to serve new customers.
In this article, we’ll break down 10 of the most common myths about KYC and open banking, and show you why it’s time to leave them behind if you want to scale smarter, faster, and more securely.
Myth 1: Open Banking Isn’t Safe
Reality: Open banking is built on consent and security by design.
Your customers aren’t handing over passwords or losing control of their data. Instead, they authorize secure, tokenized connections that let you access verified financial information.
Platforms like Zeeh use bank-grade encryption and strict privacy standards, so you can stay compliant with data protection laws while keeping customers safe.
Myth 2: KYC Is Just About ID Checks
Reality: KYC goes far beyond asking for a passport or driver’s license.
True KYC includes document verification, biometric checks, sanctions screening, address validation, and continuous monitoring for suspicious behavior.
Stopping at a basic ID check leaves you vulnerable to fraud and non-compliance. A platform like Zeeh provides multi-layered, real-time checks to protect your business long after onboarding.
Myth 3: You Can Build Your Own KYC Stack Easily
Reality: Building KYC and risk tools in-house is time-consuming and expensive.
It’s not just about coding an API; it’s about staying up-to-date with regulatory changes, integrating with local data sources, and maintaining high security standards.
Most companies that try to build KYC internally end up slowing down their go-to-market and spending more on compliance than expected. A ready, unified platform like Zeeh lets you focus on your product, not compliance infrastructure.
Myth 4: Credit Scores Are Enough to Assess Risk
Reality: Traditional credit scores only tell part of the story, and they’re often outdated.
They often overlook gig workers, SMEs, and migrants who don’t fit traditional credit models but still earn a consistent income.
With open banking, you can access real-time transaction data, cash flow analysis, and spending behavior. Tools like Zeeh’s FlowScore give you a clearer, fairer view of affordability and risk than credit bureaus alone.
Myth 5: Open Banking Is Only for Banks
Reality: Open banking isn’t just for traditional financial institutions.
Lenders, marketplaces, remittance platforms, insurance providers, and even SaaS companies use it to verify users, underwrite loans, power payouts, and enable seamless payments.
If your business needs accurate financial data, you can benefit from open banking, whether you’re a fintech or a global platform expanding into Africa.
Myth 6: KYC Slows Down Customer Onboarding
Reality: Manual KYC slows you down, but automated KYC speeds you up.
Instead of long forms, email back-and-forth, and manual review, modern KYC APIs verify documents, biometrics, and financial data in minutes, not days.
This means you can keep customers moving through onboarding without sacrificing security. Zeeh clients, for example, reduce underwriting time from 24 hours to just minutes.
Myth 7: Regulators Don’t Support Open Banking in Africa
Reality: Africa is leading in progressive fintech regulation.
Countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa have built sandboxes and clear frameworks to encourage innovation while protecting consumers.
Using a compliant partner like Zeeh helps you enter these markets faster and meet evolving local requirements without the complexity of figuring it out alone.
Myth 8: Open Banking Increases Fraud Risk
Reality: Secure, multi-source data verification actually reduces fraud.
Fraudsters thrive on outdated, fragmented systems where it’s easy to fake documents or create thin files.
Open banking lets you cross-check data from banks, credit bureaus, and other trusted sources in real time, catching inconsistencies before they become costly. Platforms like Zeeh unify these checks into one flow, helping you spot fraud earlier.
Myth 9: KYC Is a One-Time Process
Reality: Customer verification isn’t “set and forget.”
Fraud patterns and customer situations change over time. Ongoing monitoring, including periodic data refreshes and risk triggers, helps you stay compliant and identify issues before they escalate.
Using APIs that support continuous checks (instead of static onboarding) keeps your business safe while reducing manual reviews.
Myth 10: Open Banking Is Too Complex to Integrate
Reality: With the right partner, open banking is developer-friendly and fast to implement.
You don’t need to stitch together multiple data sources or spend months integrating. Platforms like Zeeh provide simple APIs, SDKs, and documentation that make it easy to start verifying customers, underwriting risk, or processing payments, without heavy technical overhead.
Why These Myths Hurt Your Growth
Believing these myths can slow your business in three big ways:
- Delayed market entry: Building in-house or avoiding open banking keeps you stuck in long compliance cycles.
- Missed opportunities: You might reject profitable customers because you rely on incomplete data.
- Higher fraud risk: Outdated KYC processes leave gaps that bad actors exploit.
The truth is, modern KYC and open banking are enablers, not obstacles. They help you scale faster, reduce risk, and reach more customers, especially in complex, multi-country environments like Africa.
How Zeeh Helps You Do It Right
Zeeh brings everything you need for KYC and risk management into one platform, built for both African and global companies expanding into Africa.
With Zeeh, you can:
- Verify anyone, anywhere, with document, biometric, and bank-verified data across 145+ countries.
- Analyze real-time cash flow with FlowScore for fairer credit decisions.
- Transform local credit histories into globally usable profiles with CreditBridge.
- Enable secure payments with Direct Debit for single, recurring, or installment plans.
Instead of juggling multiple vendors, you can launch faster, stay compliant, and reduce fraud, all with a single, reliable partner.
Final Thoughts
The financial landscape is moving too fast for old assumptions to hold you back. Open banking and modern KYC aren’t just buzzwords; they’re practical tools that help you grow, protect your business, and serve more people fairly.
Stop letting these myths slow your expansion or add unnecessary risk. With Zeeh, you can move faster, stay compliant, and make smarter lending and onboarding decisions, all while unlocking new markets.
Sign up now and start exploring the endless opportunities open banking has to offer.
