Compliance & Risk Controls
Built in KYC/KYB patterns, audit trails, and AI aware risk management.
For AI agents to use money in the real world, the system must be safe, lawful, and trustworthy.
Catena builds compliance and risk controls into the foundation, not as add ons (extra features that are added later, not built into the main system from the start).
This makes it possible for agents to operate at scale without breaking rules or creating danger.
What KYC and KYB mean
KYC (Know Your Customer) means knowing who the human is.
KYB (Know Your Business) means knowing which company is involved.
These are basic legal requirements in finance.
Why this matters for AI agents
AI agents do not exist alone. They are always connected to:
- A human
- A company
- Or an organization
Without this link:
- No one is accountable
- Regulators cannot trust the system
- Businesses cannot use it safely
How Catena handles this
Catena:
- Verifies the human or company behind every agent
- Links each agent to a verified owner
- Keeps this information up to date
So even though the agent acts independently, there is always a known, verified party behind it.
What an audit trail is
An audit trail is a full record of:
- What happened
- Who did it
- When it happened
- Why it was allowed
Think of it as a detailed activity log.
Why this matters
If something goes wrong:
- You need answers, not guesses
- You need proof, not stories
Without audit trails:
- Trust breaks
- Disputes are hard to resolve
- Regulators step in
How Catena handles audit trails
Catena records:
- Every agent action
- Every approval rule
- Every payment attempt
- Every completed transaction
Nothing is hidden, deleted, or unclear.
What this means
AI aware risk management means understanding that AI behaves differently from humans.
AI can:
- Act very fast
- Repeat mistakes at scale
- Trigger many actions at once
Traditional risk systems are not built for this.
Why this matters
A small error by an AI:
- Can happen thousands of times
- In seconds
- Across many accounts
This is dangerous without proper controls.
How Catena manages AI risk
Catena:
- Sets strict spending and action limits
- Monitors agent behavior in real time
- Flags unusual or risky patterns
- Allows instant pausing or shutdown
This stops problems early, before damage spreads.
Most systems:
- Detect problems after they happen
- Fix damage later
Catena:
- Prevents unsafe actions
- Limits blast radius
- Makes risky behavior hard by default
An agent suddenly tries to send many payments at once. Catena detects unusual behavior, pauses the agent, and alerts the owner before any major loss occurs.
Catena’s compliance and risk controls make agent finance safe by verifying who is behind each agent, recording every action clearly, and managing AI specific risks in real time.
