What to prepare before a merchant onboarding review

Why the review exists

Before a payment provider can process payments for a business, it has to know who that business is, who owns and controls it, what it sells and to whom. These checks are known as Know Your Business (KYB) and Know Your Customer (KYC). They are part of customer due diligence, which anti-money laundering law requires of regulated firms, and they are also required by card schemes and acquiring partners.

Rainbow Pay is licensed as a Money Service Operator under the AMLO (Cap. 615), so its merchant onboarding includes these checks. The review is not a formality. Its outcome determines whether an account can be opened, which payment methods can be enabled and on what terms.

Most delays in onboarding come from missing or inconsistent information, not from the checks themselves. Preparing in advance is the most effective way to keep the process moving.

Documents commonly requested

The exact list depends on your business, its structure and the services you need. The following are commonly requested:

• Certificate of incorporation and, where applicable, business registration.
• Ownership structure, showing every layer between the applying company and the individuals who ultimately own or control it.
• Identification of directors and beneficial owners, usually a government-issued identity document for each.
• Proof of address for the business and, where requested, for individuals.
• Website and business model information: what you sell, how you deliver it, your terms, refund policy and customer support details.
• Processing history, where applicable, such as recent statements from a previous payment provider.

Make ownership easy to follow

The most common source of follow-up questions is ownership. A reviewer needs to trace control from the applying company to the natural persons at the top, through every holding company in between.

• Prepare a simple chart showing each entity, its jurisdiction and the percentage held at each layer.
• Name every individual who owns or controls the business above the relevant threshold, and anyone who exercises control by other means.
• Make sure names, dates and registration numbers match exactly across the chart, the registry extracts and the identity documents.
• If a trust, nominee or foundation is involved, say so up front and explain who the settlor, trustees and beneficiaries are.

Complex structures are not a problem in themselves. Unexplained ones are. A short written explanation of why the structure exists usually answers questions before they are asked.

Check your website before you apply

Your website is the first thing a reviewer opens. It should describe the business you have applied as, and it should give a customer what they need to buy with confidence.

• The legal entity name and contact details are visible, and match the application.
• Products or services are described clearly, with prices.
• Terms of service, a privacy notice, and refund and cancellation policies are published and consistent with how you actually operate.
• Delivery or service timelines are stated.
• Customer support contact details are available and monitored.

A clear refund policy and responsive support also matter after approval. Customers who can reach a merchant are more likely to ask for a refund than to dispute a payment with their card issuer.

Describe the business model plainly

Reviewers need to understand how money moves through your business. Be specific about the markets you sell to, the currencies you expect to take, the expected volume and average transaction value, whether you offer subscriptions, and whether you fulfil orders yourself or through third parties.

Explain how customers find you and how they pay. If you work with resellers, marketplaces or other intermediaries, describe the arrangement and who the customer believes they are buying from. If part of your service is delivered by a third party, name it and describe what it does. Reviewers are looking for a coherent picture in which the website, the documents and the expected payment activity all describe the same business.

Estimates are acceptable if they are labelled as estimates. What causes difficulty later is a business that operates materially differently from the one described at onboarding. If your model changes after approval, tell your provider before the change, not after.

What happens after you submit

The compliance team reviews the information, carries out screening and verification, and may ask follow-up questions. Answer them completely and in writing. A partial answer often leads to a second round of questions.

Nominate one person to own the application. They should be able to reach the directors and owners quickly, collect documents, and answer questions about the business model. Applications stall most often when a question sits with the wrong person.

Approval is not guaranteed. An application may be declined or approved with conditions, depending on the outcome of the review. Approval is also not the end of due diligence: providers monitor activity on an ongoing basis and may request updated information from time to time.

To begin, tell us about your business. For more on how Rainbow Pay approaches these obligations, see Compliance.