Corporate KYC and KYB checklist for a foreign company

• Identify the customer and verify their identity using reliable, independent documents or data.
• Identify the beneficial owner and take reasonable measures to verify them; for companies, understand the ownership and control structure.
• Understand the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship.
• Conduct ongoing monitoring of the relationship and transactions, checking the source of funds where necessary.

Full breakdown KYC and KYB for a Foreign Company: Which Documents to Prepare

• Corporate documents: certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles of association, registers of members and directors, a recent extract from the register or a certificate of good standing / incumbency, resolutions appointing signatories.
• Ownership structure: a chart down to each individual with percentages, the corporate documents of each intermediate entity, and trust and nominee agreements, if any.
• People: passports and proof of address of the beneficial owners, directors and signatories. How recent the documents must be and the requirements for certification and translation are set by the specific bank.
• Business: a description of the model, contracts with key clients and suppliers, invoices, a website, and licenses for regulated activities.
• Money: source of funds for the first incoming payments and the beneficial owner's source of wealth, if the risk profile requires it.
• Taxes: a self-certification of the tax residency of the company and its controlling persons under the OECD CRS. Financial institutions rely on it when opening an account for an entity.

Full breakdown KYC and KYB for a Foreign Company: Which Documents to Prepare

UBO disclosure: the 25% threshold, control via agreements and chains, beneficial ownership registers in the EU, UK, Hong Kong, BVI and US, who sees the data.

Full breakdown UBO Disclosure: Who Can See an Offshore Company Owner’s Data

• Step 1. Define which transactions you need
• Step 2. Check the country and industry
• Step 3. Show the chain of beneficial owners
• Step 4. Separate source of funds and source of wealth
• Step 5. Describe the future transactions
• Step 6. Work out the real cost of the payment route
• Step 7. Prepare a plan in case of refusal

Full breakdown Bank Account for a Foreign Company: How an Offshore Company Passes the Bank Review

• Constitutional documents and a registry extract, an ownership chart down to individuals, passports and proof of address, resolutions on signatories, a website or a short product presentation, a sample contract and invoice, a list of countries and a payment forecast, documents on the source of the initial funds. For complex groups, add financial statements and a chart of intra-group payments.
• Appoint one person who answers the bank's questions and makes sure the information matches everywhere. The signatory in the corporate resolution must be the same person who goes through the review, and the website, business activities and expected payments must tell one story.

Full breakdown Bank Account for a Foreign Company: How an Offshore Company Passes the Bank Review

EMI vs bank account for a company: balance protection, safeguarding, €100,000 and £120,000 deposit guarantees, credit and interest, and how to choose.

Full breakdown EMI vs Bank Account for an Offshore Company: What Is the Difference

• The provider's regulator and license number in the public register (in the United Kingdom, the FCA Register).
• Which countries of company registration and owner residency the provider accepts: these lists differ between EMIs and banks and change over time.
• Currencies and payment systems: SEPA, SWIFT, Faster Payments, card payouts.
• Industry restrictions, limits, conditions for freezing funds and the procedure for returning funds when the account is closed.
• The safeguarding method and where client money is held.

Full breakdown EMI vs Bank Account for an Offshore Company: What Is the Difference

• Whether the chosen PSP supports the company's country of registration and the owners' country of residence.
• Whether your product falls into the provider's prohibited or restricted industries.
• Settlement and payout currencies, payout timing, support for subscriptions and marketplace payouts.
• Reserve terms, fees, limits on refunds and chargebacks.
• Website requirements: refund policy, terms of service, seller contact details, an accurate description of the goods or service.
• A bank account or EMI for payouts. The difference between them is explained in the guide EMI vs bank account.

Full breakdown Payment Processing for a Foreign Company: Stripe, PSPs and Card Acquiring

• contracts with the supplier and the buyer, invoices and specifications;
• transport documents, customs declarations and insurance policies;
• an ownership chart down to the ultimate beneficial owners and tax residency information;
• an explanation of the intermediary's economic purpose: purchasing, logistics, financing, handling claims.

Full breakdown International Trading Company: Imports, Exports and Tax

• The physical route of the goods is mapped, and the route of the money separately.
• For each contract an Incoterms rule is chosen and the moment title passes is stated.
• It is clear who the importer is in each country of import and whether they need an EORI.
• The intermediary's functions are described: who negotiates, who signs contracts and from where.
• CFC rules and the owners' tax residency have been checked.
• A bank or payment institution has confirmed in advance that it is ready to work with this model.

Full breakdown International Trading Company: Imports, Exports and Tax

• Concealing the real industry or clients' countries: the discrepancy with actual payments surfaces during monitoring and leads to the account being closed even after it has been opened.
• Giving different versions of the structure to the bank, the EMI and the agent.
• Submitting documents to the bank without translation and certification when it requires them.
• Forgetting to update KYC when a director, shareholdings or the address change.

Full breakdown KYC and KYB for a Foreign Company: Which Documents to Prepare

• Treating an IBAN as a sign of a bank account: EMIs issue IBANs too.
• Keeping all liquidity with one provider without a backup way to receive payments.
• Hiding the real industry or clients' countries in the application form: the mismatch is detected during transaction monitoring and leads to the account being closed.

Full breakdown EMI vs Bank Account for an Offshore Company: What Is the Difference