This article provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) related to opening new Payhawk company accounts in the US.
Why do cardholders of US companies need to enter their social security number (SSN)?
To comply with the USA Patriot Act 2001, all financial institutions need to have a customer identification policy. At Payhawk, we only require each cardholder of an onboarded US entity to enter the following information on their User Profile:
Name
Date of Birth
Citizenship
Social Security Number
Yes/No to the question “I am a politically exposed person”
This data can be entered by the staff member themselves, or by the organization’s Payhawk Administrator. The social security number field is hidden, even while being entered. All data stored in Payhawk is SOC 2 Type 2 Compliant, and you can review Payhawk's Security Policy online.
What if you are issuing a card to an individual based overseas who does not have a social security number?
They can select “No social security number?” and enter the following information on their User Profile:
Name
Date of birth
Citizenship
Government ID/Passport Number
Expiration
Yes/No to the question “I am a politically exposed person”
Payhawk does not require copies of any individual identity documents for the purpose of issuing cards and doesn’t run any details against any database.