Payhawk is a financially regulated institution and the EMI license permits the company to provide payment services. Payhawk is a principal member of Visa and also a registered agent of e-money institutions that have a license to operate in the EU/EEA and the UK, which means Payhawk will need some business and personal documents before it can grant new customers full access to its platform.

All financial services providers are bound by Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations based on which customer and company verification are an essential element. Therefore, as part of Payhawk's ongoing commitment to meeting its regulatory obligations, it must ensure that the company is not being used and utilized by illicit actors for money laundering, sanctions evasion and/or terrorist financing.

The KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know Your Business) procedures are an essential part of Payhawk’s AML/CTF regulatory obligations. They show Payhawk’s commitment to ensuring transparency and legality within the broader financial sector.

In short, the purpose of the KYC/KYB procedures is to verify the identity of customers and other business parties in order to prevent illegal activities - for example, fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion among others. The collected KYC/KYB information guarantees that Payhawk, as a financial service provider, knows who the company is dealing with, understands the nature of customers' and partners’ activities and can assess the risk stemming from doing business with them.

The KYB verification focuses on establishing the identity and legitimacy of businesses. This involves gathering information and documents related to the business registration and structure, beneficial ownership and other details about the nature of the business operations.

The KYC verification typically focuses on individuals within applying entities that hold decision-making positions (managing directors) or capital (shareholders or beneficial owners). It involves collecting and verifying information such as identification documents, proof of address, and other relevant personal details, handled according to strict standards of protection and confidentiality.

Compliance regulations require financial institutions to verify both the company and the natural persons serving as Directors and/or Ultimate Beneficial Owners. For a non-exhaustive list of acceptable documents, see the article about applying for Payhawk in the UK and EEA.

Usually, this compliance check might involve collecting a wide range of data from the involved business. For a non-exhaustive list of acceptable documents for verification of the company, see the article about applying for Payhawk in the UK and EEA.

A company representative through whom a company applies for a Payhawk account will need to verify their identity through Onfido. An identity verification of Managing Directors and Beneficial Owners (having 25% or more ownership) is also required. For a non-exhaustive list of acceptable documents for verifying the required company representatives, see the article about applying for Payhawk in the UK and EEA.

Payhawk understands that the application and verification process is sometimes inconvenient - however, it's a legal requirement to ensure that the company and its financial partners are being used correctly and ethically and this way, Payhawk can protect the company and its customers.

Payhawk is aware that some of the required documents include sensitive personal data. However, rest assured that they are being handled with complete confidentiality and are retained purely for regulatory and legal purposes. For more information on the matter, see Payhawk's Privacy Policy.