KYB Verification Overview

KYB, or "Know Your Business," is a legal requirement in the financial industry that verifies businesses' legitimacy.

It is key in preventing fraud, money laundering, and other high-risk activities, particularly in financial and corporate settings. KYB is especially important in B2B (business-to-business) relationships, ensuring companies work with trustworthy and compliant partners.

1. Business Verification: This step confirms that the business is real and legally registered. It typically involves checking official records for details like the company’s legal name, registration number, and registered address using government databases or trusted third-party sources.
2. Understanding Business Structure: KYB also determines who owns and controls the business. This means identifying major shareholders and determining the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) to prevent financial crimes like money laundering through complex corporate setups.
3. Assessing Business Reputation: Knowing if a business has a good track record is important. This may include reviewing media coverage, legal disputes, and financial stability to spot any potential risks before working with them.
4. Compliance Checks: Businesses need to follow local and international rules, including anti-money laundering (AML) laws and sanctions. KYB ensures they’re not on any blacklists and checks for politically exposed persons (PEPs) to avoid compliance issues.

We would recommend that you gather all the necessary documents before you start the KYB verification process. Having everything ready before you start helps avoid delays, ensures a smoother experience, and speeds up the approval process.

To verify your business, you will need:

1. Business Information
   • Legal business name
   • Business tax identification number
   • Year of incorporation
   • Business address
   • Entity structure (Sole proprietorship, Corporation, Partnership, Co-operative)

Associated people:
Directors
A Director is someone who is a member of the Board of Directors and has the legal authority to manage the company's operations and make executive decisions. If you select Corporation or Non-Profit as your Entity Structure you will be prompted to provide their name, occupation, country of residence, and address. Please provide the details of at least two Directors. Directors are not required to complete KYC identity verification unless they are also a Signing Officer and/or UBO.

Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs)

A UBO is someone who holds 10% or more ownership of the business. There can be more than one UBO. You'll need to provide their name, job title, email address, and percentage ownership. Each UBO must be linked to the business and complete KYC identity verification. If they're also an Employment Hero admin, they only need to do KYC once and ensure you enter in their email address associated with their Employment Hero account. If the UBO is not an Employment Hero admin, please enter their preferred email address and they will receive an automated email from Persona to complete their identity verification. Please see KYC Verification Overview for more details.

Non-profits only need to provide Signing Officer and Director details. UBO details are not required.

Signing Officer 

The Signing Officer is an individual who is authorized to perform financial transactions and can legally bind the company through their signature.  On the last page of the KYB form you’ll need to provide their name, job title, email address, and percentage of ownership (if they are also a UBO). That individual must be the same person listed on the payor relationship document provided. The Signing Officer needs complete KYC identity verification. Please see KYC Verification Overview for more details.

What You'll Need:

1. Pay verification documents: 
   Please provide documentation that includes the company name, financial institution, account number, and branch/transit number.
   
   You'll need to provide one of the following:
   1. A void cheque
   2. A bank verification letter.
   3. A direct deposit form from your bank

2. Place and History of Business Documents:
   Please provide one of the following documents, ensuring the legal name and address (including any suite number) match exactly what appears in your Employment Hero account:

   1. Utility bill (hydro, gas, water) from the past 2–3 months
   2. Licence
   3. Tax registration
   4. Bank statements
   5. Bank letters or agreements
   6. Lease agreements
   7. Articles of Association
   8. Certificate of corporate status or incorporation
   9. Annual report
   10. Partnership agreement
   11. Letter/Notice of Assessment

   We cannot accept self-prepared documents or sales invoices. The address provided must exactly match your business's legal address. P.O. boxes are not accepted as valid legal addresses.

3. Payor Relationship Documents: 

   Please provide certified government or bank-issued documentation naming the individual with legal signing authority to execute transactions on behalf of the company. That individual must be attested as the Signing Officer on the last page of this form.
   
   You'll need to provide one of the following:

   1. Articles of incorporation
   2. Business registration
   3. Bank verification letter confirming signing authority
      
      Please note that we are unable to accept internal records or documents provided by your lawyer.