Traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) processes are no longer sufficient. Juniper Research’s recent whitepaper explores how identity verification is advancing beyond initial customer and merchant onboarding to encompass continuous, agent-level governance. Authored by Research Analyst Shane O’Sullivan, the report analyzes the current KYC/KYB market while highlighting emerging risks and the critical need for “Know Your Agents” frameworks.
The whitepaper, an extract from Juniper’s KYC/KYB Systems Market 2026-2030 research updates, underscores significant market expansion.
Global spending on KYC and KYB systems is projected to rise from $35.5 billion in 2026 to $53.0 billion by 2030, representing substantial growth driven by regulatory tightening and sophisticated fraud threats.
Particularly striking is the acceleration outside the financial sector: non-financial businesses are expected to increase their KYC/KYB investments from $10.9 billion in 2026 to $22.5 billion in 2030—a 105% surge.
This pace is three times faster than in financial services, signaling that KYC is truly moving beyond banking.
Among non-financial industries, eCommerce stands out as the fastest-growing segment, with spend forecasted to climb more than 150% over the same period.
Here, the focus is shifting from one-time seller verifications to perpetual lifecycle monitoring and advanced KYA controls.
As platforms handle vast ecosystems of automated actors, continuous risk management becomes essential to combat identity-enabled fraud.
The report identifies AI agents as both an opportunity and a challenge.
These autonomous systems are scaling operations in customer service, payments, and commerce, but they also enable bad actors to automate attacks like credential stuffing, account takeovers, and synthetic identity fraud at unprecedented speeds.
“As platforms scale beyond human oversight, agentic AI emerges as an important layer for KYC/KYB; facilitating continuous monitoring across large agent ecosystems,” O’Sullivan explains.
Organizations that fail to implement KYA risk widening compliance gaps and heightened exposure to coordinated threats.
Regulatory developments are accelerating this evolution. Stricter rules across regions demand ongoing due diligence, pushing firms toward AI-powered tools that blend verification with real-time fraud detection.
The whitepaper stresses that successful adaptation will reduce customer friction while strengthening defenses—particularly important as AI agents execute transactions and interact on behalf of humans or businesses.
Juniper’s analysis covers 10 key verticals, including banking, fintech, insurance, eCommerce, telecoms, healthcare, and real estate, with forecasts spanning 61 countries and over 26,700 data points.
Ultimately, the report positions KYA as the logical next step in building trust at scale.
Businesses ignoring this shift face not only regulatory penalties but also lost opportunities in an agent-driven economy.
As the update from Juniper Research notes, those embracing continuous, agent-aware verification will be best positioned to navigate the future of digital identity. With AI proliferation showing no signs of slowing, “Know Your Agents” is set to become a cornerstone of more secure, compliant operations worldwide.