Concept
KYA vs KYC: what is the difference?
Know Your Agent is the check a merchant or service runs before it lets an agent transact. The check asks which agent is acting, on whose behalf, and with what authority. Know Your Customer, and any difference between the two checks, is not documented as of 2026-11-05.
Last verified 2026-11-05
Sources
How to read this
Know Your Customer does not appear in glossary terms or listing records. This page does not use commentary essays. A listing that names a verified person is quoted below, and that quote is not labeled KYC.
The Know Your Agent definition is the glossary definition. Its sources are the sources on that glossary entry.
Nothing on this page is scored.
| Field | Know Your Agent | Know Your Customer |
|---|---|---|
| Glossary term | Know Your Agent | Not documented as of 2026-11-05 |
| Definition recorded | Know Your Agent is the check a merchant or service runs before it lets an agent transact. The check asks which agent is acting, on whose behalf, and with what authority. | Not documented as of 2026-11-05 |
| Listings on the term | Beltic KYA, Concordium Agent Registry, ERC-8004, Mastercard Agent Pay for Machines, Microsoft Entra Agent ID, Skyfire, Socure Agent Intelligence, Visa Trusted Agent Protocol, Web Bot Auth, x401 | Not documented as of 2026-11-05 |
A person is named
These listings name a verified person or a verified human. The directory does not call that Know Your Customer.
| Listing | Status | Last verified | Record | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concordium Agent Registry | live | 2026-11-05 | Its ID layer links the owner to a verified person. The directory does not call this KYC. Not documented as of 2026-11-05. | |
| Socure Agent Intelligence | beta | 2026-10-28 | A listing source is titled Socure Launches Agent Intelligence to Bind Every Agent to the Verified Human Behind It. The directory does not call this KYC. Not documented as of 2026-11-05. |
Related questions
Related concepts
- Agent spend controls
Agent spending is bounded only where a vendor document states the bound.
- Can an AI agent raise its own spending limit?
Yes, if the approval step for a cap change reaches a channel the agent can read.
- How AI agents pay
As of 2026-11-05, this directory records 8 card tagged payment rails, 3 HTTP 402 protocol columns, 3 commerce protocol listings, and 15 agent wallet rows.
- How do you revoke an AI agent's credentials?
An agent credential can be revoked only where a checked page states the path.
- How do you verify an AI agent's identity?
You verify an AI agent's identity with the check that listing documents, and this directory does not record one shared method.
- How is x402 volume measured
As of 2026-10-29, x402.org no longer published the Last 30 Days panel that showed 75.41M transactions and $24.24M volume through at least 2026-10-20, and x402scan showed 3,247,612 transactions and $1.58M under Past 30 Days.
- What is the agent economy
The agent economy is software agents that discover services, pay, prove identity, and act under spend limits on behalf of people or businesses.
- Which agent identity standards exist?
Identity listing text names four records as a draft or a specification: ERC-8004, a draft Ethereum proposal; Web Bot Auth, an IETF working group draft and not yet a standard; x401, a draft HTTP protocol; and Visa Trusted Agent Protocol, a Visa specification.
- Who handles a refund when an agent pays
A refund follows the page for that rail.
- x402 volume, claimed and measured
Public x402 volume figures disagree, and this page does not merge them.
Questions
- KYA vs KYC: what is the difference?
- Know Your Agent is the check a merchant or service runs before it lets an agent transact. The check asks which agent is acting, on whose behalf, and with what authority. Know Your Customer, and any difference between the two checks, is not documented as of 2026-11-05.
- What is Know Your Agent?
- Know Your Agent is the check a merchant or service runs before it lets an agent transact. The check asks which agent is acting, on whose behalf, and with what authority.
- Is Know Your Customer documented here?
- Not documented as of 2026-11-05. No glossary term and no listing record uses that name.
- Does a verified person on a listing make it KYC?
- No. Concordium and Socure records name a verified person or a verified human. This directory does not call either statement Know Your Customer.
- Does this page score a listing?
- No. The table states what the directory records. It does not rank either column.