Certified KYC and Customer Due Diligence Specialist
A foundational specialist qualification covering Know-Your-Customer procedures, customer identification and verification, risk profiling, beneficial ownership and enhanced due diligence for higher-risk relationships.
What This Certification Covers
The Certified KYC and Customer Due Diligence Specialist certification equips professionals with the specialised knowledge and skills needed to apply Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) procedures efficiently and effectively, to identify and verify customers and beneficial owners, and to assess and manage customer risk within banks and financial institutions, exchange houses, insurance and fintech companies, designated non-financial businesses and professions, and regulatory bodies.
The certification develops participants' ability to apply a risk-based approach to customer acceptance and classification, analyse complex ownership structures of legal persons and arrangements, handle high-risk customers such as politically exposed persons, verify source of funds and source of wealth, and carry out ongoing monitoring of business relationships and customer data updates. It emphasises practical application and case studies, compliance with FATF Recommendations and national regulatory requirements, and the use of digital solutions in electronic identity verification.
Like every ACS credential, the CKDS is awarded only after a formal assessment of defined qualification outcomes — evaluating understanding, application and professional judgement, not attendance alone.
What You Will Be Able to Do
- Understand the international and national regulatory framework for KYC and due diligence and its role in combating money laundering and terrorist financing
- Apply procedures for identifying and verifying natural and legal person customers in line with approved requirements
- Identify beneficial owners and analyse complex ownership and control structures
- Assess and classify customer risk and apply the appropriate level of due diligence to each category
- Perform enhanced due diligence on high-risk customers and relationships and verify source of funds and wealth
- Manage the customer lifecycle from onboarding, ongoing monitoring and periodic review to exit, and report suspicious cases
The CKDS Programme in 8 Modules
01KYC Concepts and Regulatory Framework5 topics
- The concept of KYC and due diligence and their importance within the compliance framework
- Relevant FATF Recommendations, particularly Recommendations 10, 12 and 22
- National laws and instructions issued by regulatory authorities
- Stages of due diligence: identification, verification, understanding the nature and purpose of the relationship, and ongoing monitoring
- Consequences of KYC failures: regulatory penalties and reputational risk
02Customer Identification and Verification6 topics
- Identification requirements for natural persons and acceptable documents
- Identification of legal persons and legal arrangements such as trusts
- Verification of authorised signatories, agents and persons acting on behalf of the customer
- Independent and reliable verification sources
- Recognising forged documents and indicators of identity impersonation
- Record-keeping and documentation requirements
03Beneficial Ownership and Ownership Structures5 topics
- The concept of beneficial ownership and criteria for identifying it: ownership, control and senior management
- Analysing multi-layered ownership structures, shell companies and front companies
- Beneficial ownership registers and public information sources
- Beneficial ownership in trusts and non-profit organisations
- Indicators of concealed ownership and the use of nominee shareholders and directors
04Customer Risk Assessment and Classification5 topics
- The risk-based approach to customer acceptance
- Risk factors: customer, geography, products and services, and delivery channels
- Building customer risk scoring models
- Simplified due diligence and the conditions for applying it
- Customer acceptance policy and cases for declining a relationship
05Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)6 topics
- Circumstances requiring enhanced due diligence and its requirements
- Politically exposed persons (PEPs), their family members and close associates
- Verifying source of funds and source of wealth
- Customers linked to high-risk and sanctioned jurisdictions
- Correspondent banking relationships and private banking
- Senior management approval and preparing EDD reports
06Sanctions Screening and Adverse Information5 topics
- Screening against national and international sanctions lists (UN, OFAC, EU)
- PEP screening using specialised databases
- Adverse media and negative information searches
- Handling potential matches and false positives
- Documenting screening results and decision-making
07Ongoing Monitoring and Customer Lifecycle Management6 topics
- Ongoing monitoring of the business relationship and matching transactions against the customer profile
- Periodic review of customer data based on risk rating
- Trigger events for customer file review and red flags
- Exiting relationships and managing de-risking
- Suspicious transaction reporting and the prohibition on tipping-off
- Practical case studies of due diligence failures
08Digital Transformation in KYC6 topics
- Electronic identity verification (eKYC) and remote onboarding
- Biometrics and liveness detection
- Digital identity and national identity verification platforms
- Reliance on third parties and KYC utilities
- Using artificial intelligence and regulatory technology (RegTech) in due diligence
- Data governance and customer privacy protection
Built for These Roles
- Account opening and customer service staff in banks and financial institutions
- Staff of KYC, due diligence and customer data management units
- Compliance and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) officers
- Relationship managers in retail, corporate and private banking
- Staff of exchange houses, money transfer, insurance and securities companies
- Staff of fintech companies, payment service providers and virtual asset service providers
- Professionals in designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs), such as lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and precious metals dealers
- Risk analysts, compliance auditors and internal auditors
- Staff of regulators and financial intelligence units
How the CKDS Is Assessed
- 01
The exam is administered through an accredited testing centre
- 02
The computer-based exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions
- 03
Passing score: 70%
- 04
Exam duration: 3 hours
Unless otherwise stated, candidates must achieve a minimum assessment score of 70%. Full entry requirements and the certification process are listed on the Certifications.
Start the CKDS Certification
Registration opens on a rolling basis through ACS or an authorised ACS centre. Reach out and our team will walk you through eligibility, registration and assessment windows.
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