KYB for Business Customers

KYB (Know Your Business) is a legal identity and compliance verification process required before a business customer can send or receive funds through SpherePay. It is mandated by anti-money laundering (AML) and regulatory requirements and must be completed once per business. KYB includes not only verifying the business entity itself, but also verifying the individuals who ultimately own or control it.

Required information

SpherePay requires the following information to verify a business customer. Fields marked API are submitted via request body; fields marked Document are uploaded as files.

Field	Source	Notes
Legal name, trade name & business description	API	`businessInformation.legalName`, `tradeName`, and `description`
Entity type & NAICS industry code	API	`businessInformation.entityType` and `naicsCode`
Website & incorporation date	API	`businessInformation.website` and `incorporatedOn`
Physical & mailing address	API	`addresses` array — both `registered` and `operating` types required
Business identification number	API	`businessInformation.identificationNumber` — accepted types vary by country
Estimated annual revenue & expected monthly payments	API	`businessInformation.estimatedAnnualRevenueInUsd` and `expectedMonthlyPaymentsInUsd`
Account purpose & source of funds	API	`businessInformation.accountPurpose` and `primarySourceOfFunds`
Regulated activities & compliance details	API	`businessInformation.regulatedActivities` and related compliance fields
Incorporation certificate	Document	`POST /v2/document` with `documentType: "incorporation_certificate"`
Shareholder registry	Document	`POST /v2/document` with `documentType: "shareholder_registry"`
Proof of business address	Document	`POST /v2/document` with `documentType: "proof_of_address"`
UBO name, residential address & date of birth	API	Provided in the business representative registration request
UBO tax identification number	API	`personalInformation.taxIdentificationNumber` in the UBO registration request
UBO ownership percentage & role	API	`representationDetails.ownershipPercentage` and `roles`
UBO government-issued identity document	Document	`POST /v2/document` with `target: "business-representative"`

In certain circumstances SpherePay may request additional documentation — for example, for businesses in regulated or high-risk industries, those with complex ownership structures, or those operating in higher-risk jurisdictions. SpherePay will contact you directly when this applies.

KYB flow overview

The flow below shows the required steps for business KYB. The only step that differs between onboarding models is TOS and MSA acceptance.

Sphere-Managed (default)
Platform-Managed (opt-in)

Create business customer with full businessInformation and addresses
Generate TOS/MSA link → redirect business representative to accept
Upload business documents (incorporation certificate, shareholder registry, proof of address)
Register each UBO (individuals with ≥ 25% ownership)
Upload identity documents for each UBO
Complete face liveness verification for each UBO (Sumsub SDK, in-flow)
Poll GET /v2/customer/{id} until status reaches approved

Create business customer with full businessInformation and addresses
Upload business documents
Register each UBO
Upload identity documents for each UBO
Upload liveness report document for each UBO
Poll GET /v2/customer/{id} until status reaches approved

Integration methods

KYB via API

Full control over each step. Use this for a custom onboarding UX embedded in your product.

KYB via hosted link

Fastest integration. SpherePay hosts the entire verification experience.

KYB via API

Use this guide to onboard a business customer step by step via the SpherePay API. The example below uses the Sphere-Managed model (default). Before you begin, ensure you have:

A SpherePay API key
The business’s legal details (name, entity type, address, identification number)
Business documents ready for upload (incorporation certificate, shareholder registry, proof of address)
UBO information and identity documents for each qualifying individual

Create a business customer

Call POST /v2/customer with type: "business". Include the full businessInformation object and both address types in addresses.

{
  "type": "business",
  "email": "contact@acmecorp.example.com",
  "phone": "+14155551234",
  "addresses": [
    {
      "type": "registered",
      "country": "USA",
      "line1": "123 Main Street",
      "line2": "Suite 100",
      "city": "Chicago",
      "state": "IL",
      "postalCode": "60601"
    },
    {
      "type": "operating",
      "country": "USA",
      "line1": "456 Market Street",
      "line2": "Floor 10",
      "city": "Chicago",
      "state": "IL",
      "postalCode": "60602"
    }
  ],
  "businessInformation": {
    "legalName": "Acme Corporation Inc.",
    "tradeName": "Acme Corp",
    "entityType": "corporation",
    "description": "Enterprise software solutions for supply chain management.",
    "naicsCode": "511210",
    "website": "https://acmecorp.example.com",
    "incorporatedOn": "2020-03-15",
    "identificationNumberType": "ein",
    "identificationNumber": "12-3456789",
    "identificationNumberCountry": "USA",
    "estimatedAnnualRevenueInUsd": "1000000_9999999",
    "expectedMonthlyPaymentsInUsd": "50000",
    "accountPurpose": "investment_purposes",
    "primarySourceOfFunds": "sales_of_goods_and_services",
    "primarySourceOfFundsDescription": "Revenue from software licensing and consulting",
    "isDao": false,
    "regulatedActivities": ["none_of_the_above"],
    "participatesInRegulatedFinancialActivity": false,
    "operatesInProhibitedCountries": false
  }
}

The businessInformation.identificationNumberType accepted values vary by country — for example, ein for the United States, uen for Singapore, or crn for the United Kingdom.

Accept Terms of Service and MSA

Generate a TOS link and redirect the business representative to accept the Terms and Conditions and the Master Service Agreement.

POST https://api.spherepay.co/v2/customer/{id}/tos-link

This step can be done in parallel with uploading business documents.

This step applies to the Sphere-Managed model only. In Platform-Managed, TOS and MSA acceptance must be embedded in your platform’s own terms prior to onboarding.

Upload business documents

Upload the required business documents. Use target="customer" for all business entity documents.

curl --location 'https://api.spherepay.co/v2/document' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <your_api_key>' \
--form 'target="customer"' \
--form 'targetId="customer_2f283221a9d44ada800ac7f11f640402"' \
--form 'documentType="incorporation_certificate"' \
--form 'file=@"/path/to/your/document.pdf"'

Repeat for shareholder_registry and proof_of_address document types.

A UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) is any individual who owns 25% or more of the company. Register each qualifying individual via POST /v2/business-representative. Repeat this step for every UBO.

{
  "customerId": "customer_2f283221a9d44ada800ac7f11f640402",
  "type": "individual",
  "email": "james.wilson@acmecorp.example.com",
  "phone": "+13125559876",
  "address": {
    "line1": "742 North Wabash Avenue",
    "line2": "Apt 4B",
    "city": "Chicago",
    "state": "IL",
    "postalCode": "60611",
    "country": "USA"
  },
  "personalInformation": {
    "taxIdentificationNumber": "987654321",
    "taxIdentificationNumberType": "ssn",
    "taxIdentificationNumberCountry": "USA"
  },
  "representationDetails": {
    "roles": ["ubo"],
    "ownershipPercentage": "50",
    "isControlPerson": true,
    "isSigner": true,
    "title": "CEO",
    "relationshipEstablishedAt": "2020-03-15"
  }
}

All individuals who meet the 25% ownership threshold must be registered and verified. If more than one individual qualifies, repeat this step for each one.

Upload UBO identity documents

Upload identity documents for each UBO. Use target="business-representative" — these documents belong to the individual, not the business entity.

curl --location 'https://api.spherepay.co/v2/document' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <your_api_key>' \
--form 'target="business-representative"' \
--form 'targetId="associatedPerson_4914a2f6226e42cc8d207ead9573b29f"' \
--form 'documentType="id_card"' \
--form 'side="front"' \
--form 'file=@"/path/to/your/document.jpg"' \
--form 'country="SGP"'

Complete UBO liveness verification

Each UBO requires liveness verification. Check the UBO’s required array via GET /v2/business-representative/{id}, then perform exactly one of the following:

liveness_check in required — Generate a face verification link for the UBO and redirect them to complete an interactive liveness check via the Sumsub SDK.
liveness_report_document in required — Upload a liveness report document for the UBO from your identity verification provider.

Repeat for each registered UBO.

Poll for verification result

Once all required steps are complete for both the business and its UBOs, SpherePay processes the verification automatically — no submit call is needed. Poll GET /v2/customer/{id} until status reaches approved.

{
  "id": "customer_2f283221a9d44ada800ac7f11f640402",
  "email": "contact@acmecorp.example.com",
  "verificationProfiles": [
    {
      "name": "kyb_profile_a",
      "status": "approved",
      "criteria": {
        "complete": [
          "email_address",
          "phone_number",
          "operating_address",
          "registered_address",
          "legal_name",
          "identification_number",
          "business_representatives",
          "incorporation_cert_document",
          "shareholder_registry_document",
          "proof_of_address_document"
        ],
        "pending": [],
        "required": [],
        "errors": []
      }
    }
  ],
  "type": "business"
}

When required is empty and status is approved, the business customer is fully onboarded and ready to transfer.

KYB review typically takes 2–7 business days after all required documents and data are submitted.

What’s next

Once the business customer’s verification profile is approved, register their payment methods and initiate a transfer.

Bank accounts

Wallets

Transfers API

Create and manage transfers once the customer has registered their payment methods.

Verification profile

Understand verification statuses, criteria arrays, and what triggers state changes.

Overview

Onboarding

Transfers

Automation

Reference data

Operational

KYB for Business Customers

Required information

KYB flow overview

Integration methods

KYB via API

KYB via hosted link

KYB via API

What’s next

Bank accounts

Wallets

Transfers API

Verification profile

Overview

Onboarding

Transfers

Automation

Reference data

Operational

Documentation Index

​Required information

​KYB flow overview

​Integration methods

KYB via API

KYB via hosted link

​KYB via API

​What’s next

Bank accounts

Wallets

Transfers API

Verification profile

Required information

KYB flow overview

Integration methods

KYB via API

What’s next