This article details documents that are required for organisations to open an account with Airwallex if your business is registered in the US.
Verification, known as KYC or ‘Know your customer’, is a process that is required by regulators to offer financial services to organisations and individuals. It involves reviewing and maintaining information on parties that use our financial services.
Business Documents
- Supporting Tax ID Documentation
- Certificate of Formation or Incorporation
- Attestation of Beneficial Ownership
Personal Information
- Official Government Issued Photo ID
Additional Supporting Documents
Generally, additional supporting documents are only required for foreign businesses and/or businesses largely run outside of the US:
- Recent Brick & Mortar US Bank Account Statement (e.g. Bank of America, Chase). Excludes US Neobank Account Statements (e.g. Mercury)
- Contracts between your US entity and established third-party US businesses
- Invoice statements with US-based customers
- Evidence of Employee(s) based in the US
- Service lease with coworking space
Please ensure all images are clear and readable. The file shall not exceed over 10MB, limited to {PDF, Word, JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP}.
BUSINESS DOCUMENTS
Tax ID
Please provide a copy of your EIN Letter or a screenshot of your EIN Number on the IRS website.
EIN Letter Sample
Screenshot of EIN Number Sample
Certificate of Formation or Incorporation
Please provide a copy of your business formation documents created with the Secretary of State. If your business is an LLC, it is called a Certificate of Formation. If your business is a corporation, it is called a Certificate of Incorporation.
Certificate of Formation Sample
Certification of Incorporation Sample
Attestation of Beneficial Ownership
We may request a breakdown of Beneficial Ownership if we are unable to identify the ownership structure of the business. Please provide us with a complete shareholding structure or ownership diagram that meets the following requirements:
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Please provide Full Name, Date of Birth, Nationality and % of Ownership for the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (any individuals with a 25% or more ownership share in the business)
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If there are no individual with a 25% or more ownership share in the business, then please declare in the shareholding structure.
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Please provide the registration country and shareholding percentage of each intermediary shareholding entity
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The Attestation should be on a company letterhead, signed by a director and dated within 6 months.
Download a sample of Attestation of Beneficial Ownership.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Personal ID
For each of the below individuals, please provide the SSN if they are US persons. Otherwise, please upload images of their government-issued, official photo ID, such as passport, national ID or driver’s license (if applicable).
- Authorized Person: the individual signing up for an account
- Control Person: someone with significant responsibility to control, manage or direct your business (typically a CEO, senior executive officer or equivalent)
- Ultimate Beneficial Owner: any individual who owns or controls, directly or indirectly, including through a trust or bearer shareholding, 25% or more of the business
ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
If your business is foreign and/or largely run outside of the US, evidence of US Operations are needed by providing 2-3 of the following documents:
- US Bank Account Statement
- Contracts between your US entity and established third-party US businesses
- Invoice statements with US-based customers
- Evidence of Employee(s) based in the US
- Service lease with coworking space
US Bank Account Statement
Please provide copies of a recent Brick & Mortar US Bank Account Statement (e.g. Bank of America, Chase). Excludes US Neobank Account Statements (e.g. Mercury)
Contracts between your US entity and established third-party US businesses
Please provide copies of contracts between your US entity and established third-party US businesses (e.g., logistics providers, contract manufacturers)
Evidence of Employee(s) Based in the US
Please provide evidence of employee(s) based in the US (e.g., full-time employee contracts)
Service lease with co-working space
Please provide evidence of a service lease with a co-working space in the US
New Business Supporting Documents
If your business is just starting out, we understand it can be hard to provide supporting documentation. However, please take a look at the list below and see if there are some documents you can supply.
In addition, if there are any documents you can think of that might help us to verify your business that are not on the below list, feel free to supply them also.
- Contracts for sale;
- Bank statement indicating business operations;
- Copies of sales or purchase invoices;
- Pro forma invoices from suppliers;
- Proof of business insurance;
- Receipts for software subscriptions, such as AWS or Xero;
- Proof of owning a website domain;
- Proof of being registered with an online marketplace (PayPal, Amazon);
- Utility bills issued in the name of the business (not for sole proprietors); or;
- Qualifications, membership in professional organizations, or membership in professional service registers or industry associations.