When starting the verification process, you must collect and submit the required verification information from your user. These requirements depend on:
- The country/region your users are operating in
- The legal entity of your user
- The financial products you are offering to your user
This page helps you determine what verification requirements apply to your users based on these factors.
Country/region of operation
Verification requirements vary based on the regulations in the country/region where your user is operating in. For example, in Belgium, a sole proprietorship is required to have a registration number, while this is not required in the United Kingdom.
See minimum required information for more details on the requirements for specific countries/regions and legal entities.
Minimum age requirements for users
It is only possible to onboard minor users if you are using v3 of the Legal Entity Management API. Reach out to your Adyen contact for more information.
Note that users under the age of 13 can never be onboarded. For users between the ages of 13 and 18, the following requirements apply based on their country of residency.
| Country/region of residency for user | Age range | Onboarding requirements |
|---|---|---|
| European Union (including Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) | 16-18 years old | Can be onboarded with a legal representative. The legal representative must also be onboarded as an authorised signatory. |
| Australia, Canada, United States | 13-18 years old | Can be onboarded with a legal representative. The legal representative must also be onboarded as an authorised signatory. |
| Hong Kong and Singapore | < 18 years old | Cannot be onboarded. |
Adyen requires the following information about the legal representative:
- First and last name
- Date of birth
- Full address for their location of residency
- Social Security Number (SSN), National ID number, or Identity number
- Their
relationshipto the user:parentorguardian - A statement from the representative that they consent to the user's agreement to abide by Adyen's Terms of Service
-
If Adyen cannot verify the legal representative's information based on the details provided, we may ask for a copy of their ID. This can then be uploaded through the Hosted Onboarding page or the Legal Entity Management API.
Legal entity type
Verification requirements vary based on your user's legal entity type. A legal entity can be a person or an entity that represents your user's business, such as a public company or a nonprofit organization.
The user that holds a contractual relationship with your platform is the main legal entity. You must collect information about the main legal entity, and about other entities that are associated with this user. For example, if your user is a private company, you must also collect information about the owners of the company. You must create individual legal entities for each owner and link them to the company, which is the main legal entity that is conducting business with your platform.
The following tabs show the legal entity types and describe the general requirements for the data that you need to collect from them.
Trusts are currently only supported in Australia and New Zealand
The legal entity is a trust. A trust is further classified into the following types:
Trust types in Australia
cashManagementTrustcorporateUnitTrustdeceasedEstatediscretionaryInvestmentTrustdiscretionaryServicesManagementTrustdiscretionaryTradingTrustfirstHomeSaverAccountsTrustfixedTrustfixedUnitTrusthybridTrustlistedPublicUnitTrustotherTrustpooledSuperannuationTrustpublicTradingTrustunlistedPublicUnitTrust
Trust types in New Zealand
businessTrustcharitableTrustdiscretionaryTrustfamilyTrustotherTrust
A trust is a relationship which exists where the trustee/s holds property or assets for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries.
In general, to onboard a trust, you must collect the following:
- Full name of the trust.
- The type of trust.
- Tax information.
- Registered address.
- A constitutional document that proves the existence of the trust, such as a trust deed.
- Full names of the settlors, trustees, protectors, beneficiaries, and ultimate beneficial owners for the trust. If the settlor has an exemption reason, you must provide it when you associate them to the trust.
Trust members
As part of the verification checks for a trust, Adyen also verifies the identity of individuals that are associated with the trust.
| Who | Criteria | Required number |
|---|---|---|
| Settlor | The natural person that created the trust. A settlor is also known as a grantor or founder. | At least one. |
| Trustee | The natural person or a corporate entity that can manage, employ, or dispose of the assets of the trust. This is done following the terms of the trust (trust deed) and the special legal duties imposed on the trustee. | All. Adyen requires information about all individuals that fit the criteria. |
| Protector | The natural person appointed to direct the trustees in relation to their administration of the trust. This can also include custodians, nominees, managers, agents, appointers, or guardians. | Any. Adyen requires information about any individuals that fit the criteria. |
| Defined Beneficiary | A natural person or corporate entity in whose interest the trust is principally constituted or operates. | All. Adyen requires information about all individuals that fit the criteria. |
| Undefined Beneficiary | A class or group of Beneficiaries that is not named, but defined in an ascertainable manner in the trust deed. | Required if there is no Defined Beneficiary. |
| UBOs through control | Any individual who exercises ultimate effective control in making decisions for the trust. If such an individual cannot be identified, then members of senior management can be identified as UBOs through control. | Optional |
Additional requirements for financial products
Verification requirements vary based on the additional financial products that you offer to your users. Processing payments and payouts are included by default. In some cases, additional financial products, such as business accounts, require more verification checks.
Each financial product includes specific capabilities that are available for your users. Different financial products might have overlapping capabilities. For some financial products, such as card issuing, capabilities might also have different levels.
The following tabs show the financial products and the general requirements for the data that you need to collect from them.
Availability
Countries: BE, DE, ES, FR, GB, NL and US for both the user's legal entity and all individuals associated with the user's legal entity.
Legal entity types: Organizations and sole proprietorships
With Adyen for Platforms, you can create a business account, which you can use to send and receive funds from third-party bank accounts. Business accounts require additional verification checks.
In addition to the minimum required information based on the country/region and legal entity type, you must also collect the following:
- Industry in which the user is registered based on their local chamber of commerce
- URL of the user's website if they have an online presence
- The user's source of funds
- For organizations, their Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)/Common Reporting Standard (CRS) classification, which includes their business type and their main source of income.
- Tax residence country and ID number. This is required for both organizations and the individuals associated with the organization, or the sole proprietorship owner.
- The user's source of wealth. Adyen determines if your user needs to provide data about their source of wealth and/or of the owners or controllers of the organization. If the source of wealth is required, Adyen will inform you.
- (Only required if you are using onboarding v4) A live selfie photo and a photo id. These are required for each signatory of an organization legal entity, or an individual legal entity owning a sole proprietorship. Adyen uses these documents to perform verification for your platform’s safety, and to help prevent onboarding of individuals attempting impersonation fraud.
To create business accounts for your users in the US, you must include the following requirements in your onboarding flow. Adyen will check your onboarding flow to ensure that it meets the guidelines.
Business accounts are not available for governmental organizations in the US, including SOEs.
| Requirement | Overview | Copy | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patriot Act / Customer Identification Program (CIP) disclosure | The disclosure and the reason for collecting the information must be shown to the account holder. | Important Information You Need to Know About Opening an Account. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person (individual or entity) who opens an account and certain individuals who are associated with an account. When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, taxpayer identification number and other information that will allow us to identify you. What this means: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, taxpayer identification number and other information that will allow us to identify you. | Must be shown before any personal information is collected from the user. For example, as the first part of your onboarding form. |
| Adyen Business Account Terms of Service | Every account holder must accept Adyen's Terms of Service before the business account can be opened. A copy of the Terms of Service needs to be provided alongside the acceptance. See copy guidelines. | I have read and I accept these terms and confirm that I am a legal representative authorized to accept these terms on behalf of the company. I have taken notice of the privacy statement (www.adyen.com/privacy) and I consent to my (personal) data being used for the purposes described therein. | |
| Regulation GG - Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act - Certification | Every account holder must be certified under the Regulation GG - Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act before the business account can be opened. A copy of Adyen's Terms of Service needs to be provided alongside the acceptance. See copy. | Is the legal entity opening the business account engaged in internet gambling? [Yes/No] | This certification must be performed when the Adyen Terms of Service are accepted. |