What is an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)?
What information do I need to provide?
Why does GoCardless need to collect this information?
What if no one owns 25% or more of my company?
What documents do I need to provide to prove who the Ultimate Beneficial Owners are?
What is a Control prong member?
Can you give me an example of the information I would need to provide?
What is an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)?
An Ultimate Beneficial Owner is a natural person (individual) who:
- Owns or controls 25% or more of shares or voting rights in the business, or;
- Otherwise exercises control over the management of the company ( e.g. CEO, COO, CFO).
What information do I need to provide?
Under the Tell us about about your company section of your Account Settings, please enter the individuals’ names and dates of birth under Ultimate Beneficial Owners.
Why does GoCardless need to collect this information?
As a regulated payments processor, we must collect and verify these details as part of our Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.
What if no one owns 25% or more of my company?
Please provide the names and dates of birth of anyone who exercises control over the management of the company e.g. CEO, COO, CFO.
What documents do I need to provide to prove who the Ultimate Beneficial Owners are?
The document you’ll need to provide depends on the country you are operating in:
|
Country |
Required document |
|---|---|
| Australia | ASIC current company extract |
| Austria | Articles of Association |
| Belgium | Copy of Constitution on the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises Register |
| Bulgaria | Beneficial owners must be identified via the NPLE Register, under Sole Owner of the Capital. |
| Canada | Shareholder Agreement/certified list |
| Croatia | Certified list |
| Cyprus | Certified list of the company’s beneficial owners (E.g. a certificate of share capital) |
| Czech Republic | The Veřejný rejstřík entry |
| Denmark | Registration entry on the CVR |
| Finland | Entry on the PRH business register |
| France |
Verified letter from notary confirming beneficial ownership |
| Germany | List of shareholders provided by the Unternehmens-Register |
| Hungary | Certified list of beneficial owners, with full names, addresses and nationalities |
| Italy | Company registration report from the Registro delle Imprese |
| Luxembourg | Articles of Association from the Registre de Commerce et des Societes |
| Malta | Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association |
| Netherlands | Company Extract of Registration with the KvK |
| New Zealand | Registration entry on the NZBN Register |
| Norway | Registration entry on the Brønnøysundregistrene |
| Poland | Certified list or the shareholder agreement |
| Portugal | Verified letter from notary confirming beneficial ownership |
| Republic of Ireland | CRO Annual Return |
| Romania | NTRO report |
| Slovakia | S.R.O. Company Entry |
| Slovenia | Details of UBOs can be found on AJPES under ‘Partners & Equity Interests.’ |
| South Africa | Certificate of Incorporation |
| Spain | Deed of Incorporation on the Registro Mercantil OR Notarial Deed of Update |
| Sweden | Memorandum of Association with the Bolagsverket |
| Switzerland | Cantonal Register Entry |
| United Kingdom | Annual return |
| United States | Articles of Association |
What is a Control prong member?
A Control Prong member is an individual with significant responsibility to control, manage or direct a legal entity customer, including an executive officer or senior manager. This is only applicable to organisations taking payments from customers based in the US under the ACH scheme.
Examples of Control prongs may include:
- Chief executive officer
- Chief financial officer
- Chief operating officer
- Managing member
- General partner
- President/Vice president
- Treasurer
- Any other individual who regularly performs similar functions
Can you give me an example of the information I would need to provide?
Scenario 1 - Your company is owned by several individuals.
Summary of information to be provided:
Proof of company ownership (e.g. Annual Return) for:
- Your Business Ltd
Names and dates of birth for:
- Mr Y
- Ms F
Scenario 2 - Your company is owned by other companies.
Summary of information to be provided:
Proof of company ownership (e.g. Annual Return) for:
- Your Business Ltd
- Company C Ltd
Names and dates of birth for:
- Mrs X
- Mr Y
Scenario 3 - Your company is owned by both individuals and another company.
Summary of information to be provided:
Proof of company ownership (e.g. Annual Return) for:
- Your Business Ltd
- Company B Ltd
Names and dates of birth for:
- Mr Y
- Mrs X
- Ms F
Scenario 4 - No one controls 25% or more of your company.
In this case, there are no Beneficial Owners. Please enter the names and dates of birth of anyone who exercises control over the management of the company e.g. CEO, COO, CFO.
Summary of information to be provided:
Proof of company ownership (e.g. Annual Return) for:
- Your Business Ltd
Names and dates of birth for:
- Individuals with company management control