Why has the average time to complete a KYC verification process on Wise increased from 2 days to 5 days this month?

Introduction

The increase in average KYC verification time from 2 to 5 days at Wise is a critical issue that demands immediate attention. This significant slowdown in a core process could impact user experience, regulatory compliance, and overall business performance. I'll approach this problem systematically, focusing on identifying the root cause, validating hypotheses, and developing both short-term fixes and long-term solutions.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Looking at the timing, I'm thinking there might be a recent change in the verification process. Has there been any update to the KYC workflow or backend systems in the past month?

Why it matters: Recent changes often correlate with performance shifts. Expected answer: Yes, there was a system update. Impact on approach: If yes, we'd focus on the update's impact; if no, we'd look at other factors.

• Considering user segments, I'm wondering if this increase is uniform across all user types. Are we seeing this 5-day average consistently across different user segments or geographical regions?

Why it matters: Helps identify if the issue is global or localized to specific user groups. Expected answer: The increase is more pronounced in certain regions. Impact on approach: If localized, we'd focus on region-specific factors; if global, we'd look at system-wide issues.

• Thinking about volume, has there been a significant increase in the number of KYC verifications being processed compared to previous months?

Why it matters: A surge in volume could explain the slowdown if resources haven't scaled accordingly. Expected answer: There's been a 20% increase in verification requests. Impact on approach: If yes, we'd look at scaling solutions; if no, we'd focus on efficiency issues.

• Considering the verification steps, I'm curious if the delay is happening at a particular stage of the KYC process. Do we have data on which specific step(s) in the verification workflow are taking longer?

Why it matters: Pinpoints where in the process the bottleneck is occurring. Expected answer: The document review stage is taking significantly longer. Impact on approach: We'd focus our investigation on the identified stage and related systems.