// GLOSSARY -- SECURITY & COMPLIANCE
What is Know Your Agent?
The practice of verifying an AI agent's identity, operator, capabilities, and authorization before granting financial access — the agent-era equivalent of KYC.
WHY IT MATTERS
KYC exists because financial systems need to know who they're dealing with. As agents become financial actors, the same applies.
KYA encompasses: identity verification (is this Agent X?), operator authentication (who deployed it?), capability assessment (what's it designed to do?), authorization validation (what spending authority?).
Without KYA, no meaningful trust in agent commerce or regulatory compliance.
HOW POLICYLAYER USES THIS
PolicyLayer implements KYA — verifying agent identity before authorizing spending, with policies tied to verified credentials.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is KYA a legal requirement?
Not yet, but regulatory frameworks are evolving. KYA is best practice now and likely to become required as agent financial activity grows.
Who performs KYA?
The entity granting financial access — the operator, payment facilitator, or counterparty. PolicyLayer provides the tooling to verify and record agent identity.
How does KYA work technically?
Through agent attestations (cryptographic proofs of identity), operator signatures, and verifiable credentials. PolicyLayer validates these before enabling spending.