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Onboarding guidelines

Learn about best practices for onboarding and see guidance for selected countries/regions

This page is in development and additional countries/regions will be added in the future.

This page provides an overview of general best practices for onboarding your users. We also list some more detailed guidance for selected countries/regions. For example, information about types of local documents and how to troubleshoot common verification issues.

For more detailed information about document formats, see requirements for document uploads.

Suggested best practices for onboarding

As required by payment industry regulations, Adyen must verify the users in your platform before you can process payments, pay out their funds, and offer financial products to them. These verification checks are also called Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. During this process, Adyen verifies that your users provide accurate information about their businesses. If the submitted information is incomplete or incorrect, this can affect the onboarding process and result in delays due to requests for supporting documentation. Please ensure the information submitted during onboarding is correct.

Identity verification

Adyen tries to verify the identity of the user using their personal details. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a photo ID to complete the verification process.

If a user’s ID document includes a married name, they may enter either one or both of their last names during onboarding. However, note that the word that references to the married name, for example Epouse or Geb, should not be included in the input data.

If a user onboards with a married name that is not yet reflected on their photo ID, they may provide a marriage certificate as a supporting document through the Legal Entity Management API. However, note that the marriage certificate can only be accepted if it was issued after their ID document.

Users may only submit shortened names or initials if they appear on their Identity document.

Residency verification

Adyen tries to use the submitted information to automatically verify your user's address. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a proof of residential address. For example, if the user provides an identity document from France during onboarding, but currently lives in Portugal.

Organization and sole proprietorship verification

Adyen tries to use the legal name and registration number of the organization to automatically verify your user. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a registration document.

The legal name of the organization must be entered exactly as it appears on the registration document or online registry. For example, the trading name cannot be submitted as the legal name.

Adyen tries to use both the submitted legal name and registration number of the sole proprietorship to automatically verify the sole proprietor's details. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a constitutional document.

For further information regarding company types, please refer to this page.

Bank verification

If the automatic verification of a bank account fails, Adyen may ask for a bank document to verify your user’s payout details.

Organizations can sign up with a bank account under their trading name, but both the correct trading name and legal name must be submitted by the user.

Sole proprietorships can sign up with either the individual bank account of the sole proprietorship owner or a bank account under their trading name. If the bank account is under their trading name, it cannot include a legal form indicating company ownership. The correct trading name must be submitted by the user when onboarding.

Australia

Adyen tries to verify the identity of the user using their personal details. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a photo ID to complete the verification process.

Users that onboard using Hosted onboarding can choose to verify their identity using instant ID verification. Documents can also be uploaded manually in the hosted onboarding page or using the Legal Entity Management API.

Australian identity documents

Proof of age cards issued by Australian states that meet the identity document requirements can be used for identity verification. All Australian driver’s license cards contain both a license number and a card number. The license number does not change, while the card number changes every time it is renewed. Please refer to this page for state-specific license designs and guidance on locating the required information for onboarding.

Bank verification

Australian users are required to upload a bank document for review. Please refer here for a full list of requirements for bank documents.

Canada

Adyen tries to verify the identity of the user using their personal details. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a photo ID to complete the verification process.

Users that onboard using Hosted onboarding can choose to verify their identity using instant ID verification. Documents can also be uploaded manually in the hosted onboarding page or using the Legal Entity Management API.

Bank verification

Instant bank account verification is available in Canada for both individuals and organizations through Hosted onboarding. Please refer here for a full list of requirements of bank documents.

France

Users onboarding with our Hosted onboarding solution are required to provide an identity document at onboarding. For further information on our identity document requirements, please refer to this page.

Note that French identity cards issued between January 2, 2004, and December 31, 2013, are automatically extended by five years beyond the original expiration and remain valid for onboarding. However, this extension is not applicable if the cardholder was under 18 at the time the card was issued.

Users may only input a shortened names or their initials if these also appear on the ID document. Suffixes, such as Jr., Sr., or III, may be provided in the first or last name input fields. However, titles such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., and Dr. are not accepted.

Bank verification

Instant bank account verification is available in France for both individuals and companies through our Hosted onboarding solution. Alternatively users may upload a bank document for review.

For individuals, bank statements that display M OU MME along with the spouse’s last name are acceptable, as long as the last name provided is displayed on the user’s ID document. If the user is using a married name or has recently changed their name and this is not reflected on the bank document, a marriage certificate or other relevant documentation should be uploaded via API as a supporting document.

For French bank documentation, a Relevé d'Identité Bancaire (RIB) does not require an issuance date. However, if a date is provided, it must be within 12 months of the current date.

Germany

Adyen tries to verify the identity of the user using their personal details. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a photo ID to complete the verification process.

Users that onboard using Hosted onboarding can choose to verify their identity using instant ID verification. Documents can also be uploaded manually in the hosted onboarding page or using the Legal Entity Management API. If a user’s ID document includes a married name Geb, they may enter either one or both of their last names. However, the word Geb itself must not be submitted.

Bank verification

Instant bank account verification is available in Germany for both individuals and companies through Hosted onboarding. Please refer to this page for a full list of requirements of bank documents.

United Kingdom

Adyen tries to verify the identity of the user using their personal details. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a photo ID to complete the verification process.

Users that onboard using Hosted onboarding can choose to verify their identity using instant ID verification. Documents can also be uploaded manually in the hosted onboarding page or using the Legal Entity Management API. A CitizenCard is a supported form of ID and can be used for verification during onboarding.

Suffixes (Jr., Sr., III, etc.) can be provided in the first or last name input fields, but titles like Ms., Mrs., Mr., and Dr. are not accepted.

United States

Adyen tries to verify the identity of the user using their personal details. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may request a photo ID to complete the verification process. Users that onboard using Hosted onboarding can choose to verify their identity using instant ID verification. Documents can also be uploaded manually in the hosted onboarding page or using the Legal Entity Management API.

US users are required to input the last four digits of their SSN (Social Security Number). If Adyen is unable to verify their personal details using the last 4 digits of their SSN , the user can input the full 9 digit SSN, update personal details or upload a proof of their SSN.

Bank verification

Instant bank account verification is available in the US for both individuals and companies through our Hosted onboarding solution. Alternatively users may upload a bank document for review.

If the user is using a married name or has recently changed their name, and this is not reflected on the bank document, a marriage certificate or other supporting documentation must be provided through the Legal Entity Management API.

Direct deposit forms are not accepted if they do not have a stamp or signature issued by a bank.

For cheques, all details must be printed, not handwritten, and the account number cannot be masked with X’s.