The verdict in three sentences
A payment institution in Amsterdam licensed by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), serving 12,000 business clients and taking 9 days to open an account, loses a large share of prospects before signature, often 25 to 30%. A custom KYC/KYB onboarding platform at EUR 70,000 to 130,000 automates document collection, identity verification, sanctions and PEP screening and AML/CFT risk scoring, targeting 48 hours. The deciding factor is not speed alone but the audit trail: every decision must be justifiable during a supervisory review.
Where the 9 onboarding days go
| Step | Current situation | With the platform |
|---|---|---|
| Document collection (company extract, articles, IDs, bank details) | Emails and reminders, 3 days | Guided online journey, 20 minutes |
| Director identity verification | ID copy checked by eye | Document and biometric check, 2 minutes |
| Ultimate beneficial owner identification | Manual search, 1 day | Automatic registry and company data queries |
| Sanctions, asset freeze and PEP screening | Manual name search | Automatic screening, only alerts reviewed |
| AML/CFT risk scoring | Excel grid | Calculated score, simplified, standard or enhanced due diligence |
| Compliance approval | 2 to 3 day queue | One-screen approval, complete file |
| Archiving and audit trail | Scattered files | Time-stamped log kept 5 years |
Platform budget and usage costs
| Work package | Content | Budget (2026 estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory scoping and journeys | Risk mapping, due diligence rules, mockups | EUR 8,000 to 14,000 |
| Web and mobile client journey | Dynamic forms, document upload, signature | EUR 15,000 to 25,000 |
| KYC and company data integrations | Identity provider, registries, sanctions and PEP screening | EUR 12,000 to 22,000 |
| AML/CFT scoring engine | Configurable rules, due diligence levels | EUR 10,000 to 20,000 |
| Compliance back office | Review queues, alerts, reasoned decisions | EUR 12,000 to 25,000 |
| Audit trail and reporting | Immutable log, supervisory exports, dashboards | EUR 6,000 to 12,000 |
| Security, testing and acceptance | Penetration tests, business acceptance | EUR 7,000 to 12,000 |
| Variable cost | 2026 unit price | For 2,000 new clients a year |
| Document and biometric identity check | EUR 1 to 3 per check | EUR 2,000 to 6,000 |
| Company and beneficial owner data | EUR 0.30 to 1.50 per query | EUR 600 to 3,000 |
| Sanctions and PEP screening with ongoing monitoring | EUR 0.10 to 0.50 per client per month | EUR 14,400 to 72,000 (on 12,000 clients) |
| Advanced e-signature | EUR 0.80 to 2 per signature | EUR 1,600 to 4,000 |
| Certified hosting and maintenance | EUR 1,500 to 3,500 a month | EUR 18,000 to 42,000 |
Ongoing portfolio monitoring often weighs more than onboarding itself: negotiate it at the scoping stage.
Custom build or turnkey solution
Turnkey KYC platforms charge EUR 1,500 to 6,000 a month in subscription on top of unit checks. They suit a newly licensed player. Custom makes sense when your due diligence rules are specific to your licence, when you orchestrate several providers to avoid lock-in, and when your back office must talk to your payment core.
Mini case study
Sarah, Head of Compliance at a payment institution in Amsterdam, receives 2,800 applications a year and converts 2,000. With a 48-hour journey she expects to recover 15% of drop-offs, that is 120 extra clients. At an average revenue of EUR 900 per client per year, that is EUR 108,000 in yearly revenue. On the cost side, her 4 analysts spend 3 hours per file today; the platform cuts this to 1 hour, freeing 4,000 hours, about EUR 160,000 at EUR 40 an hour. For a EUR 110,000 project and EUR 60,000 of yearly running costs, payback comes in under a year.
FAQ
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Is remote identity verification accepted by the supervisor?
Yes, if it meets Dutch AML law (Wwft) requirements for non-face-to-face onboarding, using a certified identity verification provider or an additional due diligence measure. The provider is chosen at scoping, for EUR 1 to 3 per check.
How long must files be kept?
Identification documents and the audit trail are kept 5 years after the end of the business relationship. The platform applies this period automatically and then purges the data.
Can we switch KYC providers later?
Yes, the platform uses an abstraction layer: replacing a provider takes 2 to 4 weeks of development, versus a full rebuild with a closed solution.
Can compliance change the scoring without a developer?
Yes, weights, thresholds and high-risk country lists are configurable in the back office, with every change versioned. Supervisors expect exactly this.
How long until go-live?
Allow 5 to 7 months, including 6 to 8 weeks of acceptance and penetration testing. A first journey for low-risk clients can open after 4 months.
Let's scope your project. Describe your licence, onboarding volumes and current providers: we will scope a platform between EUR 70,000 and 130,000 targeting 48-hour onboarding. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
