# Verification & KYC/KYB

> Identity and business verification requirements for sub-merchants — individual KYC, business KYB, UBO collection, and country-specific documents.

VINR must verify every sub-merchant before enabling payment acceptance or payouts. Requirements vary by legal entity type and country of incorporation.

## Entity types

| Type                     | Verification required                           |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Individual / sole trader | Government-issued ID, proof of address          |
| Company / LLC            | Business registration, UBO details, director ID |
| Partnership              | Partnership agreement, partner IDs              |
| Non-profit               | Registration certificate, signatory ID          |

***

## KYC — individuals

For individual sub-merchants or the named representative of a business entity:

- **Government-issued ID** — passport, national ID card, or driver's licence
- **Proof of address** — utility bill or bank statement dated within 90 days
- **Selfie / liveness check** — required in select markets (US, UK, Australia, Thailand)

Documents must be in Latin-script or accompanied by a certified translation.

***

## KYB — businesses

For registered companies, LLCs, and other legal entities:

- **Proof of registration** — certificate of incorporation, company extract from national registry
- **Proof of address** — registered office address matching the registry record
- **Memorandum / articles of association** — required in some jurisdictions (UAE, India)
- **Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) details** — any person owning ≥25% of the entity

### UBO collection

VINR requires disclosure of all individuals who own or control ≥25% of the sub-merchant entity (directly or indirectly). For each UBO:

1. Full legal name and date of birth
2. Residential address
3. Ownership percentage
4. Government-issued ID (same standards as individual KYC)

If no individual meets the 25% threshold, the senior managing official (CEO / director) must be identified as the controlling person.

***

## Capabilities system

Verification unlocks **capabilities**. Sub-merchants start with no capabilities; each passes after the corresponding check clears:

| Capability             | Requires                                   |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `card_payments`        | Identity verification complete             |
| `bank_transfers`       | Identity + bank account ownership verified |
| `payouts`              | Full KYC/KYB + bank account                |
| `in_person_payments`   | Identity + terminal agreement              |
| `cross_border_payouts` | Enhanced due diligence (EDD)               |

Your platform can query a sub-merchant's current capabilities at any time:

```
GET /v1/platform/sub-merchants/{id}/capabilities
```

***

## Country-specific requirements

| Country        | Additional requirements                                                          |
| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| United States  | EIN (businesses), SSN last 4 (individuals), 1099 tax reporting threshold         |
| European Union | UBO attestation template, digital attestation accepted                           |
| United Kingdom | Companies House number match                                                     |
| Australia / NZ | ABN/ACN, trust deed for trust entities                                           |
| Singapore      | SingPass MyInfo integration available; unverified accounts closed after 120 days |
| UAE            | Trade licence, memorandum of association                                         |
| India          | PAN card, GST registration (if applicable)                                       |
| Japan          | Japanese kana and kanji scripts both required                                    |
| Canada         | Director registry name match                                                     |

***

## Ongoing compliance

Verification is not one-time. VINR may trigger periodic reviews:

- **Annual review** for high-volume sub-merchants
- **Event-triggered review** after a sanctions screening hit, unusual activity, or significant ownership change
- **Document expiry** — IDs with expiry dates must be refreshed before expiry

VINR fires `sub_merchant.verification.review_required` when a periodic review is needed. Until resolved, the sub-merchant's capabilities may be restricted.

***

## Sanctions screening

All sub-merchants are screened against OFAC, EU, UN, and local sanctions lists at onboarding and on an ongoing basis. A match triggers:

1. Immediate capability restriction
2. `sub_merchant.sanctions.flagged` webhook to your platform
3. Enhanced document collection request

Contact your VINR platform manager if a sub-merchant believes they have been incorrectly flagged.