> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sigma-docs.pastelhq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Customers and Customer Groups

> Understand what customers and customer groups mean in CDD

<Card title="Example:" img="https://mintcdn.com/pastelafrica/ntjYoizWRm54Uo2_/images/cdd/customer.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ntjYoizWRm54Uo2_&q=85&s=68743a72acd8649dc503b157eaec2843" width="2392" height="1345" data-path="images/cdd/customer.png">
  Image shows customers and customer groups on sigma dashboard
</Card>

### Customer Types

Sigma CDD supports two customer types. The type you select determines which identity checks and risk criteria are available in your workflow.

| Type           | Who it covers                                                      |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Individual** | Natural persons: retail customers, sole traders, beneficial owners |
| **Corporate**  | Registered businesses, companies, and other legal entities         |

### Individual Customer Fields

When adding an individual customer, you provide:

* **Full name** (first name and last name)
* **Date of birth**
* **Nationality / country of residence**
* **Phone number**
* **Email address**
* **Unique ID** (your internal identifier for this customer, used for API lookups)
* **Government ID details** (BVN, NIN, passport number, or other document identifiers depending on the checks configured in your workflow)

### Corporate Customer Fields

When adding a corporate customer, you provide:

* **Business name**
* **Registration number**
* **Country of incorporation**
* **Business address**
* **Contact details**
* **Unique ID** (your internal identifier for this entity)
* **Beneficial owner details** (directors and shareholders above the ownership threshold, typically 25%)

### How to Add Customers

There are three ways to add customers to Sigma:

**Single entry (Dashboard)**

1. Open **Customers** in the Sigma App
2. Click **Add Customer**
3. Select the customer type (`individual` or `corporate`)
4. Fill in the required fields and submit

**Bulk upload (CSV)**

To add many customers at once, import a CSV file:

1. Open **Customers** and click **Add Customer**
2. Select **Import customers from file**
3. Download the CSV template for your customer type
4. Fill in the template, one row per customer
5. Upload the completed file

The import will validate each row. Rows with errors are flagged for correction before the import completes.

<Note>
  The CSV template varies by customer type. Use the individual template for natural persons and the corporate template for business entities. Mixing types in one file is not supported.
</Note>

**API integration**

To add customers programmatically as part of your onboarding flow, use the CDD API. This is the recommended method for institutions processing high volumes.

<Note>[See the Create Customer API reference](../../api-reference/cdd/endpoint/create-individual-customer)</Note>

### Customer Records

Once added, each customer has a record in Sigma that stores:

* **Profile data** (the identity fields submitted at creation)
* **CDD request history** (all past and pending workflow runs)
* **Risk profile** (current risk tier and score from the latest completed run)
* **Screening results** (PEP, sanctions, and adverse media outcomes)
* **Generated reports** (compliance reports produced for this customer)

You can update a customer's profile data at any time from their record in the dashboard or via the API.

### Customer Groups

A **customer group** is a collection of customers of the same type. Groups let you organise your customer base and run CDD on multiple customers at once, useful for periodic reviews across a cohort.

**When to use groups:**

* Running quarterly or annual reviews across a segment (e.g. all high-risk retail customers)
* Onboarding a batch of customers at the same time
* Tracking the progress of a bulk CDD run

**How to create a customer group:**

1. Open **Customers** and switch to the **Customer Groups** tab
2. Click **Create Group**
3. Enter a group name and select the customer type
4. Add customers to the group (you can add individually or import)
5. Save the group

Once a group is created, you can trigger a CDD run from the group view. Sigma processes each customer in the group using the selected workflow and reports progress in the dashboard.

<Tip>
  Customer groups are separate from individual customer records. Adding a customer to a group does not duplicate the record. The same customer profile is shared.
</Tip>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Reports" icon="file" href="/products/cdd/submit-request">
    Generate compliance-ready CDD reports for customers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Getting Started" icon="database" href="/products/cdd/getting-started">
    Follow the full setup and operations flow.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>