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1. Incorporation article
The incorporation article is a legal document that creates a company. It includes information such as the company's name, registered address, authorized share capital, and the company registration number.
1. Incorporation article
The incorporation article is a legal document that creates a company. It includes information such as the company's name, registered address, authorized share capital, and the company registration number.
How to obtain it?
You can usually obtain a copy of your articles of incorporation from the government agency that incorporated your company. For example, in the United States, you can obtain a copy of your articles of incorporation from the Secretary of State's office in the state where your company was incorporated.
What are the requirements?
The incorporation article is required to verify that your company is a legally registered business entity.
- This means that the incorporation number, the company name, and the incorporation country or state must be displayed on the incorporation article.
- The incorporation document must show the registered office address (including the legal form and date of incorporation).
- Please note that PO boxes are not accepted as an operational address.
- For home-based businesses: the utility bill can be in the name of a director, shareholder, or UBO.
Additional information
The company should be verifiable in the commercial register of the country in which it was incorporated.
2. Beneficial ownership documentation.
Whether or not a company is required to register its beneficial owners depends on the country in which it is incorporated. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Denmark, require beneficial ownership to be registered in publicly accessible commercial registries, while others, such as the United States, do not. Depending on the requirements in the country of incorporation, Coinify will require different documents during the onboarding process.
Requirement for companies incorporated in countries where registration of beneficial owners is mandatory
If your company is incorporated in such a country, Coinify requires:
- A printout from the registry that displays the company's ownership. The printout should clearly indicate the beneficial owners of the company, including the percentage of ownership.
- Ownership documentation must also show total issued shares.
Requirements for countries that do not require beneficial ownership registration
If a company is incorporated in a country that does not require beneficial ownership registration, Coinify will require:
- A notarized version of the beneficial ownership documentation from the company. This document should list all of the company's shareholders, the percentage of shares they own, the company name, and the company registration number.
Who can notarize a document? (notarizer)
A notarizer is a person who has been granted state authorization to witness signatures on official documents and confirm the signers' identities. It should be an independent third party, such as a lawyer, notary, accountant, or senior banker.
Why is it required?
The beneficial ownership documentation/shareholder registry is required to verify who the ultimate beneficial owners of the company are. This information is used to assess the company's risk profile and to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
Company-owned shares and other verifications
Beneficial ownership should be verifiable down to 25% beneficial ownership or, in some cases, 10%. This means that all companies in the chain of company ownership down to individuals owning 25% shall be verifiable with incorporation documents and beneficial ownership documentation. Additionally, all individuals with ownership of 25% or more, or in some cases, 10% or more, are required to be identified with a copy of a valid picture ID.
3. Government-issued ID of shareholders
To verify the identity of a company's largest shareholders, government-issued ID is required for individual shareholders owning 25% or more, or in some cases, 10% or more of the company's shares.
What is a copy of a valid ID:
- Driver's license
- National ID
- Passport.
What are the requirements?
Both sides of the ID are required because some ID documents display crucial information, such as place of birth and birth date, on the back side. The copy should be uploaded in high resolution, clearly readable, and must not be expired.
Why is it required?
The government-issued ID is required for all relevant persons: shareholders, directors, UBOs (including control by other means), and authorized representatives. Where no UBO can be identified, we identify the senior managing official.
4. Corporate bank account statement:
The corporate bank account statement is necessary for verifying the company's ability to receive payouts in FIAT currency and to provide evidence of the company's integration into the traditional financial system.
What should be displayed on the bank account statement?
Both sides of the ID are required because some ID documents display crucial information, such as place of birth and birth date, on the back side. The copy should be uploaded in high resolution, clearly readable, and must not be expired.
Why is it required?
The government-issued ID is required for all relevant persons: shareholders, directors, UBOs (including control by other means), and authorized representatives. Where no UBO can be identified, we identify the senior managing official.
4. Corporate bank account statement:
The corporate bank account statement is necessary for verifying the company's ability to receive payouts in FIAT currency and to provide evidence of the company's integration into the traditional financial system.
What should be displayed on the bank account statement?
- Company name
- Company address
- Company’s bank account number or IBAN
- Bank logo and name (Identifiable)
Other information on the bank account statement
To accurately represent the bank's data, the document should be sourced directly from the bank, either as an exported printout on statutory paper or as a screenshot from the online banking portal, encompassing all the essential information within one view.
5. Utility bill from your office
A utility bill for the company’s office is required to verify the company's operational address.
What is a valid utility bill:
To accurately represent the bank's data, the document should be sourced directly from the bank, either as an exported printout on statutory paper or as a screenshot from the online banking portal, encompassing all the essential information within one view.
5. Utility bill from your office
A utility bill for the company’s office is required to verify the company's operational address.
What is a valid utility bill:
- Electricity Bill
- Water Bill
- Gas Bill
- Telephone Landline Bill
- On-Site Internet Service Bill
- On-Site Cable TV Bill
- Latest Office Rental Bill
What requirements must a utility bill meet to be accepted?
The utility bill must be dated within 3 months of the date it was requested and must display the company name and the company's operational address in full.
Why is it required?
The utility bill from your office is required to ensure that the company’s operations can be linked to a physical address.
If your business operates from a home address,
In cases where the company operates from a home address, the utility bill should be issued in the company's name and accurately reflect the operational address. However, for smaller companies, providing a utility bill in the company's name might not be feasible. In such instances, the utility bill should be issued in the name of a director, shareholder, or UBO.
The utility bill must be dated within 3 months of the date it was requested and must display the company name and the company's operational address in full.
Why is it required?
The utility bill from your office is required to ensure that the company’s operations can be linked to a physical address.
If your business operates from a home address,
In cases where the company operates from a home address, the utility bill should be issued in the company's name and accurately reflect the operational address. However, for smaller companies, providing a utility bill in the company's name might not be feasible. In such instances, the utility bill should be issued in the name of a director, shareholder, or UBO.
6. License to operate (Conditional)
What is a license to operate:
A license to operate is a legal document that gives a company permission to operate in a particular industry.
A license to operate should typically display the following information:
- The name of the licensee (company name)
- The type of license
- The license number
- The date the license was issued
- The date the license expires
- A seal or other symbol of the issuing authority
- A signature of an authorized official
How to know whether your company needs to have a license:
To find out whether your company needs to have a license to operate, you should contact the relevant authorities in your jurisdiction. They will be able to tell you whether a license is required and, if so, what the requirements are for obtaining a license.
Why is a license needed?
A license to operate is needed to show that the company is compliant with all applicable laws and regulations.
If your company needs a license to operate but did not obtain one
Coinify will not approve applications from companies that do not obtain the required operational licenses.
To find out whether your company needs to have a license to operate, you should contact the relevant authorities in your jurisdiction. They will be able to tell you whether a license is required and, if so, what the requirements are for obtaining a license.
Why is a license needed?
A license to operate is needed to show that the company is compliant with all applicable laws and regulations.
If your company needs a license to operate but did not obtain one
Coinify will not approve applications from companies that do not obtain the required operational licenses.
7. Conditional Documents
For high-risk industries, we require additional documents.
- Audited financial statements dated within the past two years or recent management accounts signed by a director, including the balance sheet and profit and loss statement
- Anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance policy for high-risk businesses, including payment service providers (PSPs), foreign exchange (FX) businesses, gambling operators, and charities
- Proof of the ultimate beneficial owner's (UBOs) residential address, required when the UBO is located in a high-risk country or the merchant is classified as high risk; the document must be dated within the past three months and issued in the UBO's name
- Know Your Business (KYB) questionnaire, industry-specific questionnaires, and enhanced due diligence (EDD) questionnaire for high-risk merchants
Our complaince team will review the documents within 5 business days. If you have any additional questions, please contact our support team, and they will be happy to guide you further.