This article outlines the documents that may be required by Airwallex to verify a business registered in Canada.
Verification, known as KYC or ‘Know your customer’, is a process that is required by regulators to offer financial services to organizations and individuals. It involves reviewing and maintaining information on parties that use our financial services.
Below, we have provided details on the documents that are required for organizations to open an account with Airwallex if your business is registered in Canada.
Business Documents
- Certificate of Formation or Incorporation
- Shareholding Structure including Beneficial Ownership
- Supporting Business Documents
Personal Information
- Official Government Issued Photo ID
- Residential Address
BUSINESS DOCUMENTS
Certificate of Formation or Incorporation
Please provide a copy of your business formation documents filed with the Secretary of State. If your business is an LLC, the document required is called the Certificate of Formation (or Articles of Organization). If your business is a corporation, the document is known as the Certificate (or Articles) of Incorporation.
Note that Bylaws and Operating Agreements are not sufficient documents as these are internal guiding documents and are not filed with the State.
Please ensure that the copy of the business formation documents must match the name of the business opening the account at Airwallex. If there has been a name change since the initial business filings, please ensure that you provide the official document showing the name change.
Providing Ownership Percentage for Each Beneficial Owner
You need to manually enter an accurate ownership percentage for each Beneficial Owner of the business.
Refer to the guide here to see how to correctly calculate beneficial ownership percentage.
If not all beneficial owners directly hold shares in the business, you must provide us with a complete shareholding structure or ownership diagram detailing the full pathway to ultimate ownership and how percentages are derived.
Shareholding Structure Including Beneficial Ownership for Indirect Ownership
We require a detailed breakdown of Beneficial Ownership if Beneficial Owners hold shares in the business through intermediate companies or other entities. Please provide a comprehensive shareholding structure or ownership diagram that meets the following requirements:
- Provide the Full Name, Date of Birth, Nationality, and % of Ownership for each Ultimate Beneficial Owner (any individual who owns 25% or more of the business).
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If no individual holds 25% or more ownership, please explicitly state this within the shareholding structure
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For each intermediary shareholding entity, specify its country of registration and its shareholding percentage.
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The Attestation of Beneficial Ownership should be prepared on company letterhead, signed by a director, and dated within the past 6 months.
Download a sample of Attestation of Beneficial Ownership.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Additional supporting documents may be requested 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}.
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.
Financial Institution Onboarding Questionnaire
If the Airwallex account will process funds of your underlying clients, please complete the following questionnaire and provide all requested supporting documents
Click here to download FI questionnaire
Marketplace Onboarding Questionnaire
If you are operating a Marketplace business, please complete the following questionnaire in order to meet our internal compliance requirements
Click here to download the Marketplace Questionnaire
Live-Streaming Questionnaire
If you are operating a Live Streaming business, please complete the following questionnaire in order to meet our internal compliance requirements
Click here to download the Live- Streaming Questionnaire
Payroll Questionnaire
If you are operating a Payroll business, please complete the following questionnaire in order to meet our internal compliance requirements
Click here to download the Payroll Questionnaire
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Personal ID
For each of the below individuals, please provide 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 who is authorized to act on behalf of the business
- 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
These individuals will also require the following information:
- Residential Address
- Date of Birth
- Job title
For each of the below individuals, please provide their names and residential addresses.
- Director(s): A person who is appointed or elected to sit on a board that manages or oversees the affairs of an entity. This includes both executive and non-executive directors
Sole Proprietorships
The following information is required for Sole Proprietorships
Business Documents
- Supporting documentation stating the date that your business commenced operations. This can be any of the following:
- Documentation, screenshot, or email from eBay/Amazon/Etsy with date established or first sale
- Documentation from Fiverr/Upwork with sign-up date
- Other; invoices or contracts from your first sale
Note: If you have any other documents that can help prove your business commencement date, please feel free to include them as well.
Personal ID
Sole Proprietorships require images of their government-issued, official photo ID, such as passport, national ID or driver’s license (if applicable).
The Sole Proprietor applying for an account will also require the following information:
- Residential Address
- Date of Birth
- Job title