Why do I need my account to be verified? (KYC/KYB)

At LiquidTrust, we are committed to providing a secure and compliant environment for all our users, both those making payments and those receiving them. To achieve this, we are required to perform account verification, often referred to as Know Your Customer (KYC) for individuals and Know Your Business (KYB) for organizations.

This article explains why this verification process is necessary and what it means for you.

What is KYC/KYB?

• Know Your Customer (KYC): This process involves verifying the identity of individual users.
• Know Your Business (KYB): This process involves verifying the legitimacy and structure of businesses and organizations.

Both KYC and KYB are standard practices in the financial industry and are essential for maintaining a safe and trustworthy platform.

Why is Account Verification Required?

We are required to implement KYC/KYB procedures for several important reasons:

• Preventing Fraud and Illegal Activities: Verification helps us to ensure that our platform is not used for money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit activities. By confirming the identities of our users, we can deter and detect fraudulent behavior, protecting both our platform and our community.
• Ensuring Regulatory Compliance: As a platform that facilitates financial transactions, we are subject to various regulations and legal requirements in different jurisdictions. KYC/KYB is often mandated by these regulations to ensure transparency and accountability in financial systems.
• Maintaining a Secure Ecosystem: By verifying the legitimacy of both Payers and Payees, we build a more trustworthy and secure ecosystem for everyone. This helps to reduce the risk of dealing with bad actors and fosters confidence in our platform.
• Protecting Users: Verification processes can also help protect our users. For example, confirming a Payee's identity can provide Payers with more assurance about who they are transacting with. Similarly, verifying Payers helps ensure Payees receive legitimate payments.
• Facilitating Smooth Transactions: While the verification process might seem like an extra step, it ultimately helps ensure smoother and more reliable transactions in the long run by reducing the risk of disputes and complications arising from unverified accounts.

What Does This Mean for You?

As a Payer or a Payee on LiquidTrust, you will be required to complete an account verification process before you can initiate or receive payments.

You will need access to a camera in order to provide a self-identification image matching a photo ID.

This process involves providing us with certain information and documentation, such as:

For Individual Payers and Payee (KYC):

• Full name
• Tax ID (If in the US, Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number)
• Government-issued identification (e.g., passport, driver's license, national ID card)
• Potentially other information to help verify your identity

For Business Payers and Payee (KYB):

• Proof of business registration
• Information about the beneficial owners (> 25%), and potentially requesting personal identification of beneficial owners.
• Potentially other business-related documents (e.g., articles of incorporation, tax identification)

For a full list, please see What Documents do I need for Onboarding?

We understand that providing this information requires trust, and we want to assure you that we handle your data with the utmost security and in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

What Happens After Verification?

Our verification process is manual and takes 1-2 business days. We may reach out to you with additional questions about your business before verification is complete. Once your account is successfully verified, you will be notified via email and be allowed to send and receive payments if within the US, or receive payments as a vendor abroad.