How do you automate KYC verification of a Belgian company with the BCE/KBO API?

Via the Company Belgium API, successively call GET /api/companies/{number} for status, legal form, address and VAT number, then GET /api/companies/{number}/ubo to access the UBO register if publicly available. Each response is timestamped. You can then automatically calculate a risk level and trigger immediate approval, manual review or a request for additional documents based on the result.

Is KYC verification via the BCE API compliant with the Belgian anti-money laundering law of 18 September 2017?

The Company Belgium API accesses official BCE/KBO data, which constitutes a recognised reference source for legal entity identity verification. For full compliance with the law of 18 September 2017, you must keep a complete audit trail of each verification with timestamp, result and source, for a minimum of 10 years. The API provides the timestamp and traceability; retention is the responsibility of your document management system.

How long does automated KYC verification take versus manual for a Belgian domiciliation centre?

Manual verification takes an average of 30 minutes: 10 minutes searching the BCE/KBO website, 8 minutes for the UBO register, 5 minutes for VAT validation and 7 minutes for establishments. With the Company Belgium API, the same verification takes about 2 seconds. For a centre handling 100 new clients per month, automation frees up approximately 50 hours of work per month.

How do you handle inactive or bankrupt companies in an automated KYC process in Belgium?

The API returns the status field for each company: AC means active, ST means ceased, FA means bankruptcy. Your KYC code must handle these cases specifically. For a company with ST status, retain historical data for AML compliance (10-year retention obligation). For FA status, trigger an immediate alert to the compliance team. The BCE/KBO retains data even for ceased companies, ensuring full traceability.

Automate KYC verification via the BCE/KBO API Belgium

In brief

Belgian domiciliation centres can cut KYC verification time by 80 % by integrating the Company Belgium REST API, which provides direct access to official BCE/KBO data. In 2 seconds the API returns a company's status, address, legal form, VAT number and beneficial owners — versus 30 minutes of manual checking. Every response is timestamped and archivable for the AML/KYC audits required by the law of 18 September 2017.

Introduction: Automation at the Service of Compliance

Domiciliation centers in Belgium face a multiplication of KYC obligations (Know Your Customer) as part of anti-money laundering efforts. Manual verification of each client quickly becomes time-consuming and error-prone.

Company Belgium offers a modern technological solution: a powerful REST API that enables you to automate all your KYC verification processes by accessing official CBE/BCE data directly.

In this article, we guide you step-by-step through integrating the Company Belgium API and reducing the time spent on KYC verifications by 80%.

Why Automate KYC Verification?

⏱️ Significant Time Savings

A manual company verification takes an average of 30 minutes:

Searching the CBE/BCE website: 10 min

UBO register verification: 8 min

VAT validation: 5 min

Establishment consultation: 7 min

With the Company Belgium API, this verification takes 2 seconds.

> 💡 Impact calculation: For a center processing 100 new clients/month, that's 50 hours saved each month, equivalent to 1.25 FTE!

✅ Guaranteed Reliability and Compliance

Official data: direct access to the CBE/BCE database (daily updates)

Timestamping: each verification is timestamped for audits

Complete traceability: history of all requests

GDPR compliance: secure storage and compliant retention period

🚀 Focus on Your Core Business

Free your teams from repetitive administrative tasks so they can focus on:

Advisory support for clients

In-depth risk analysis

Weak signal detection

Business development

Technical Architecture of the Integration

Main Endpoints for KYC

The Company Belgium API exposes several essential endpoints:

#### 1. Company Verification

Code

GET /api/companies/{enterpriseNumber}

Returns all official information about a company:

Status (active/inactive)

Legal form

Registered office address

VAT number

Creation date

Directors

#### 2. UBO Lookup

Code

GET /api/companies/{enterpriseNumber}/ubo

Accesses the register of ultimate beneficial owners (if publicly available).

#### 3. Establishment Verification

Code

GET /api/companies/{enterpriseNumber}/establishments

Lists all operational establishments of the company.

#### 4. Peppol Verification

Code

GET /api/peppol/check?vatNumber={vatNumber}

Checks if the company is registered on the Peppol network for electronic invoicing.

Secure Authentication

The API uses a dual-key system to ensure security:

JavaScript

const headers = {
  class="code-string">'X-API-Key': class="code-string">'pk_live_your_public_key',    class="code-comment">// Identifies your application
  class="code-string">'X-API-Secret': class="code-string">'sk_live_your_secret_key',  class="code-comment">// Authenticates the request
};

> ⚠️ Security: Never expose the secret key on the client side! Use it only server-side.

Step-by-Step Integration Guide

Step 1: Get Your API Keys

Create a free account on Company Belgium

Access your dashboard

"API Keys" section → "Create a new pair"

Store your keys securely in a secrets manager (e.g., Vault, AWS Secrets Manager)

Step 2: SDK Installation (optional)

For Node.js/TypeScript:

Terminal

1
2
3

npm install @company-belgium/sdk
# or
pnpm add @company-belgium/sdk

For Python:

Terminal

pip install company-belgium

Step 3: Initial Configuration

Node.js / TypeScript

TypeScript

import { CompanyBelgiumClient } from class="code-string">'@company-belgium/sdk';

const client = new CompanyBelgiumClient({
  publicKey: process.env.CB_PUBLIC_KEY,
  secretKey: process.env.CB_SECRET_KEY,
  environment: class="code-string">'production', class="code-comment">// or class="code-string">'sandbox' for testing
});

Python

Python

from company_belgium import Client

client = Client(
    public_key=os.getenv(class="code-string">'CB_PUBLIC_KEY'),
    secret_key=os.getenv(class="code-string">'CB_SECRET_KEY'),
    environment=class="code-string">'production'
)

Step 4: First KYC Verification

Complete TypeScript Example

TypeScript

async function verifyNewClient(enterpriseNumber: string) {
  try {
    class="code-comment">// 1. Basic verification
    const company = await client.companies.get(enterpriseNumber);
    
    class="code-comment">// 2. Compliance checks
    const checks = {
      isActive: company.status === class="code-string">'AC',
      hasValidVAT: company.vatNumber !== null,
      hasAddress: company.addresses.length > 0,
      isNotBankrupt: company.status !== class="code-string">'ST',
      createdRecently: isWithinLastYear(company.startDate),
    };
    
    class="code-comment">// 3. UBO register verification (if needed)
    let uboVerified = false;
    if (checks.isActive) {
      const ubo = await client.companies.getUBO(enterpriseNumber);
      uboVerified = ubo !== null && ubo.beneficiaries.length > 0;
    }
    
    class="code-comment">// 4. Peppol verification (bonus)
    const peppolRegistered = await client.peppol.check(company.vatNumber);
    
    class="code-comment">// 5. Generate KYC report
    const kycReport = {
      enterpriseNumber,
      companyName: company.denomination,
      verificationDate: new Date().toISOString(),
      checks,
      uboVerified,
      peppolRegistered,
      riskLevel: calculateRiskLevel(checks),
      status: allChecksPassed(checks) ? class="code-string">'APPROVED' : class="code-string">'REVIEW_REQUIRED',
    };
    
    class="code-comment">// 6. Save for audit
    await saveKYCReport(kycReport);
    
    return kycReport;
    
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(class="code-string">'KYC verification failed:', error);
    throw new KYCVerificationError(error.message);
  }
}

class="code-comment">// Helper function
function calculateRiskLevel(checks: Checks): class="code-string">'LOW' | class="code-string">'MEDIUM' | class="code-string">'HIGH' {
  const passedChecks = Object.values(checks).filter(Boolean).length;
  const totalChecks = Object.values(checks).length;
  const ratio = passedChecks / totalChecks;
  
  if (ratio >= 0.9) return class="code-string">'LOW';
  if (ratio >= 0.7) return class="code-string">'MEDIUM';
  return class="code-string">'HIGH';
}

Advanced Use Cases

Case 1: Automated Onboarding

Create a complete client onboarding workflow:

TypeScript

async function automaticOnboarding(clientData: ClientData) {
  class="code-comment">// Step 1: Validate enterprise number
  if (!isValidCBENumber(clientData.enterpriseNumber)) {
    return { status: class="code-string">'REJECTED', reason: class="code-string">'Invalid CBE number format' };
  }
  
  class="code-comment">// Step 2: KYC verification via API
  const kycReport = await verifyNewClient(clientData.enterpriseNumber);
  
  class="code-comment">// Step 3: Automatic decision
  if (kycReport.status === class="code-string">'APPROVED' && kycReport.riskLevel === class="code-string">'LOW') {
    class="code-comment">// Auto-approval: create client file
    await createClientFile(clientData, kycReport);
    await sendWelcomeEmail(clientData.email);
    return { status: class="code-string">'APPROVED', clientId: newClientId };
  }
  
  class="code-comment">// Step 4: Manual review for complex cases
  if (kycReport.riskLevel === class="code-string">'HIGH') {
    await notifyComplianceOfficer(kycReport);
    return { status: class="code-string">'PENDING_REVIEW', reason: class="code-string">'High risk - manual review required' };
  }
  
  class="code-comment">// Step 5: Request additional documents
  await requestAdditionalDocuments(clientData.email, kycReport.missingData);
  return { status: class="code-string">'PENDING_DOCUMENTS' };
}

Case 2: Continuous Monitoring

Implement automatic monitoring of your clients:

TypeScript

class="code-comment">// Daily cron job
async function dailyClientMonitoring() {
  const activeClients = await getActiveClients();
  
  for (const client of activeClients) {
    class="code-comment">// Check changes since last verification
    const changes = await client.companies.getChanges(
      client.enterpriseNumber,
      { since: client.lastVerificationDate }
    );
    
    if (changes.length > 0) {
      const significantChanges = changes.filter(change => 
        [class="code-string">'status', class="code-string">'address', class="code-string">'administrators', class="code-string">'juridicalForm'].includes(change.field)
      );
      
      if (significantChanges.length > 0) {
        await notifyComplianceTeam({ client, changes: significantChanges, urgency: class="code-string">'MEDIUM' });
        await flagForKYCReview(client.id);
      }
      
      await updateLastVerificationDate(client.id);
    }
  }
}

Case 3: Batch Verification

Verify multiple companies in parallel:

TypeScript

async function batchVerification(enterpriseNumbers: string[]) {
  const results = await Promise.allSettled(
    enterpriseNumbers.map(num => verifyNewClient(num))
  );
  
  return {
    total: enterpriseNumbers.length,
    successful: results.filter(r => r.status === class="code-string">'fulfilled').length,
    failed: results.filter(r => r.status === class="code-string">'rejected').length,
    details: results.map((r, i) => ({
      enterpriseNumber: enterpriseNumbers[i],
      status: r.status,
      data: r.status === class="code-string">'fulfilled' ? r.value : null,
      error: r.status === class="code-string">'rejected' ? r.reason : null,
    })),
  };
}

Compliance and Audit Trail

Preservation of Verification Evidence

TypeScript

interface KYCAuditLog {
  id: string;
  timestamp: Date;
  enterpriseNumber: string;
  apiResponse: any;
  verifiedBy: string;
  verificationResult: class="code-string">'APPROVED' | class="code-string">'REJECTED' | class="code-string">'REVIEW';
  riskLevel: class="code-string">'LOW' | class="code-string">'MEDIUM' | class="code-string">'HIGH';
}

async function saveAuditLog(verification: KYCAuditLog) {
  await db.kycAuditLogs.insert({
    ...verification,
    createdAt: new Date(),
    retentionUntil: addYears(new Date(), 10), class="code-comment">// 10-year retention
  });
  
  await s3.putObject({
    Bucket: class="code-string">'kyc-audit-logs',
    Key: class="code-string">`${verification.id}.json`,
    Body: JSON.stringify(verification),
    ServerSideEncryption: class="code-string">'AES256',
  });
}

Costs and Limits

Company Belgium Pricing Plans

Plan	Requests/month	Price	Ideal for
Free	100	€0	Testing and small volumes
Starter	1,000	€29/month	Starting centers
Professional	10,000	€149/month	Established centers
Enterprise	Unlimited	Upon request	Large volumes

> 💡 ROI calculation: If your team bills at €50/h, saving 30 min per verification = €25 savings. From 6 verifications/month, the Starter plan pays for itself!