What if you only had to prove who you are once—and seamlessly access any platform, anytime? That’s the promise (and the urgency) behind Reusable KYC.

Here’s the stark reality: repetitive KYC processes cost European financial institutions over €5 billion annually, as frustrated applicants drop out mid-way. The “KYC fatigue” is even more brutal, with drop-off rates exceeding 50%, and sometimes hitting 70%.

Now consider this: respondents in the UK digital identity sector report that over half of identity providers already support reusable digital identities or consent-based data sharing. That’s not just innovation—it’s an industry pivot driven by consumer pain and regulatory evolution.

Reusable KYC is the perfect solution so far: one secure verification today, accessible already-once-verified PII everywhere tomorrow. It doesn’t just streamline user onboarding. It redefines how businesses scale trust and compliance.

What is Reusable KYC?

Reusable KYC is a system that allows users to verify their identity once and let companies securely exchange this data across multiple partnered services. It’s powered by strong compliance and data security standards.

Unlike traditional KYC, where every new account or product requires fresh document submission and manual approval, reusable KYC:

• Exchanges verified identity data securely with sharing partners, always with user consent
• Lets partner companies exchange user verification data
• Guarantees compliance by automatically checking that data is still valid and up-to-date

In short: instead of repeating KYC endlessly, businesses get instant verification, and users get a smoother journey.

Industry-wide, reusable KYC is becoming a necessity. Regulators demand strict onboarding controls, while customers expect seamless digital experiences. According to recent fintech adoption reports, a significant percentage of users abandon onboarding if verification takes too long or requires redundant steps. Reusable KYC bridges that gap—compliance without friction.

Suggested read: ID Future: Reusable, Secure, Real?

Why companies may need Reusable KYC

Across industries, organizations are realizing that onboarding pain points are also business growth blockers. Common challenges include:

• Re-verification fatigue. Customers abandon platforms when asked to redo KYC for every new service or jurisdiction.
• High compliance costs. Manual reviews and repeated verifications drive up operational expenses.
• Fragmented systems. User data gets isolated across different services, making monitoring and compliance harder.
• Slower time-to-market. Companies expanding globally struggle with scaling verification without causing delays.
• Regulatory complexity. Rules differ across countries, and businesses need adaptable workflows to remain compliant.

For fast-growing fintechs and payment platforms, these challenges can slow growth and erode trust.

How to choose the right reusable KYC solution

Reusable KYC isn’t just about reducing redundancy. The right solution should combine compliance strength with customer convenience. Here’s what to look for:

• Instant recognition of verified users, without making them repeat checks
• User consent–driven data sharing, ensuring privacy and control
• Regulatory-grade verification, accepted across jurisdictions and industries
• Automated re-checks, to keep data fresh and compliant with evolving AML/KYC laws
• Seamless integration with onboarding, monitoring, and case management systems
• Global coverage, so businesses can scale without reinventing verification in each region

Why Sumsub’s Reusable KYC Is redefining onboarding efficiency

Sumsub’s Reusable KYC is more than just identity recycling—it’s a compliance-first approach to digital identity reusability. Businesses get faster onboarding, while users stay in control of their data. It’s part of a broader Reusable Identity suite that also includes Sumsub ID and Copy Applicant.

Key features of the Reusable KYC solution include:

• Cross-platform usage. Verified identities can be reused instantly in multiple services. Clients can partner to exchange verified identity data both ways, enabling reuse across services with explicit user consent.
• User consent and privacy protection. Data is never shared without explicit customer approval.
• Highly accurate verification. Covers KYC/AML requirements globally, with built-in re-checks for continuously strong compliance.
• Full integration with Sumsub’s ecosystem. Works seamlessly with onboarding, transaction monitoring, and case management.
• Two implementation options: SDK and API. SDK-based implementation means lower technical hassle, enables email-based or share-token matching, and always requires users’ consent before reuse. On the other hand, the API-based one re-checks documents and liveness regularly, with granular response control (approved, needs more docs, or no reuse possible).
• Top-notch performance. Up to 50% faster onboarding and ~30% higher conversion rates, according to Sumsub’s aggregated internal data. It’s trusted by over 4,000 clients at no additional cost to them, with an average of over 300,000 new users per month, all benefitting from rapid KYC. It’s backed by rigorous GDPR-compliant data privacy standards.

How clients benefit from Reusable KYC

Mercuryo: Reducing friction in the global crypto network

Mercuryo, a global crypto payments company, faced a common problem in its mission to make digital assets accessible worldwide. Users had to re-verify every time they accessed different services or products, slowing down adoption and creating frustration.

It was easy for Mercuryo to integrate Sumsub using the SDK and API solutions, with the entire integration process taking less than 1 week. By implementing Sumsub’s Reusable KYC back in 2021, Mercuryo gave its users a single verified identity that could be reused across the ecosystem of over 200 companies in total. This allowed the company to expand faster across jurisdictions without building separate KYC flows for each product.

• Unified onboarding across crypto services and fiat on/off ramps
• Lower drop-off rates thanks to instant verification
• Compliance guaranteed across multiple jurisdictions
• Operational efficiency by reducing duplicate reviews

Andrey Ilinsky

Product Owner at Mercuryo

Sumsub’s Reusable KYC feature has been a pleasant experience for us so far. Together with the Shared Token integration, this has helped us reduce onboarding time by eliminating unnecessary steps for new users globally.

PayDo: Streamlining compliance for payments worldwide

PayDo, a global payment solutions provider serving businesses and individuals, struggled with repeated verifications for clients accessing different payment services. Each new check meant extra time, cost, and risk of user abandonment.

With Sumsub’s Reusable KYC, PayDo created a seamless experience where verified users could move across services without friction—while still meeting global AML/KYC obligations. PayDo has increased its approval rate by 10% and eliminated auto-confirmed fraud cases, reducing them by 23%, while maintaining consistent onboarding speed.

• Faster onboarding for international clients
• Stronger customer trust thanks to transparent, user-consent-based data reuse
• Reduced compliance costs by eliminating repetitive manual reviews
• Scalable verification framework to support PayDo’s global growth
• PayDo plans to fully integrate the Reusable KYC feature to expand to new major markets

Oleksandr Persidskyi

Head of Operations at PayDo

This is a critical feature for customers onboarding with us, as the majority of our clients use Sumsub, and Reusable KYC is essential for ensuring fast transaction processing without unnecessary delays.

Results that speak for themselves

Across clients, Reusable KYC has proven its value:

• Shorter onboarding times leading to higher conversion rates
• Lower customer drop-offs, especially in multi-service ecosystems
• Reduced compliance costs by eliminating redundant verification processes
• Improved regulatory alignment, with built-in automated re-checks

In practice, businesses using Sumsub’s Reusable KYC have seen conversion rates climb by double digits once repetitive checks were eliminated. Reusable KYC allowed Sumsub’s customers to reuse verified profiles across products, which cut abandonment rates nearly in half. This also meant that compliance officers could refocus on higher-value tasks, since fewer manual reviews were needed after reusable profiles were introduced.

The impact isn’t just operational. By giving clients a smoother, single-pass identity journey, companies improve brand trust and loyalty, while also keeping up with regulators by consistently updating identity data. Within weeks, clients have seen measurable improvements in both customer satisfaction and compliance efficiency—proving that user-friendly doesn’t have to mean regulator-unfriendly.

Future of digital identity & compliance

Digital identity is undergoing a rapid transformation: from document-heavy checks to trusted, portable, user-centric systems. At Sumsub Multiverse London 2025, Devie Mohan highlighted several trends that underpin the value and direction of Reusable KYC today.

Traditional ID documents—passports, certificates, proof of address—are reaching their limits. Instead, digital identity verification is shifting toward document-free systems that use biometric data, device information, and behavioral signals. These methods are faster, more scalable, harder to spoof, and more inclusive, especially for groups like the underbanked or displaced individuals.

Fragmented identity systems also create friction and create more risks. The panel emphasized the trend toward multi-platform trust, specifically, identity federation and single sign-on models that let verified users reuse one secure digital identity across services.

Finally, a major theme of the panel was the rise of decentralized identity systems, where users control their personal data rather than storing it in vulnerable central databases. When combined with decentralized models, reusable KYC puts individuals in control and significantly strengthens data privacy and security.

Building on these themes, forward-looking compliance leaders should embrace the following strategies:

• Document-less verification first. Integrate biometric and behavioral checks to make identity trustworthy and inclusive.
• Enable identity portability. Treat verification as a reusable digital asset—this reduces friction and improves user experience.
• Support decentralized identity. Design systems that can integrate with user-controlled wallets or identity layers, enhancing privacy and resilience.

The rise of digital identity shows that reusable KYC is more than a convenience—it’s the cornerstone of future-proof compliance and user-centric trust.