Your Guide to KYB & KYC

Protecting Our Partnership and Complying with Canadian Regulations – Your Guide to KYB & KYC

Why is this important for you?

This initiative isn’t just a recommendation; it’s a legal requirement mandated by Canadian legislation. Skip is legally responsible for fulfilling obligations that help combat money laundering and terrorist activities on the platform. Specifically, we must satisfy requirements from:

• FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada): This government agency plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of Canada’s financial system by collecting and analyzing information to detect and prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities

• CRA (Canada Revenue Agency): The CRA requires Skip to maintain accurate tax information for each of our partners and mandates the reporting of certain earnings

What this means for your business: Adhering to these requirements isn’t just about Skip’s compliance; it’s about safeguarding your operations. Non-compliance with these laws carries significant risks, and partners who fail to provide correct business or enterprise numbers may face penalties, including a C$500 fine per taxpayer or legal entity issued by the CRA.

By working together on this, we’re not only meeting our legal duties but also strengthening our collective defence against financial crime. This ensures the Skip platform remains a legitimate, secure, and trusted environment for all partners and customers.

What do partners need to do?

To meet these mandatory requirements, Skip needs to collect specific information through two key processes: Know Your Business (KYB) and Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. We have partnered with Trulioo, a trusted third-party provider specializing in secure data management and verification, to streamline this process.

What does the verification process require?

The verification process requires a two-step approach: Know Your Business (KYB) and Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.

Partners will receive an email from Skip on July 7, 2025 including a secure link to a form where the required information can be uploaded and verified.

The process is designed to be simple and user-friendly, taking only a few minutes to complete.

It is crucial that all submitted documents and information match exactly with what is entered. Mismatched information or incorrectly formatted documents will cause delays in verification.

All uploaded documents must be:

• Clear and Legible: All text must be easily readable.
• Complete: Show the entire document, including all corners and edges. Documents must not be cropped or missing pages with crucial information, and all borders must be visible.
• Valid: The document must not be expired (if applicable). It must be authentic, valid, and current.
• Format:
  • Document copies and scans must be in PDF format and taken directly from the original document; they cannot be processed, converted, or embedded in other files.
  • A picture of a physical document must be the original, unprocessed picture in JPEG or PNG format.
  • Screenshots are not acceptable.
  • Photos and scans must be in colour, particularly for identity checks.
  • Images must not be low-quality.
  • Documents must be readable and in a valid upload file format.
• Back Side: If the back side of a document contains required information, an image of the back side must be included.
• Matching Information:
  • The submitted business document (KYB) must include the business address and the correct official business name exactly as they appear on the form.
  • The submitted business document (KYB) must include the number and names of the Persons of Significant Control exactly as they appear on the form.
  • The submitted identity document (KYC) must include full name, address and date of birth as they appear on the form. 

Know Your Business (KYB) Verification

The KYB process focuses on collecting official legal details about your business. You will need to provide the following information:

1. Legal Business Name

What it is: The complete and official name of your business as registered with the relevant government authority.

Where to find it:

• On documents such as your Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Amalgamation, or Master Business License. 
• Important: This is not a trade name, “doing business as” (DBA) name, or brand name unless it is also your legally registered name.

2. Business Number (Tax ID)

What it is: A unique, nine-digit number assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to identify businesses for various tax and program accounts. It’s the standard identifier for your business when interacting with federal and, in many cases, provincial and municipal government programs. Your business will only ever have one BN, regardless of how many CRA program accounts (like GST/HST, payroll, or corporation income tax) you have.

Where to find it:

• On any official correspondence from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regarding your business.
• Through your CRA My Business Account.
• On any past tax returns or notices of assessment filed for your business.
• If you’ve registered for a CRA program account (e.g., GST/HST, payroll), your BN would have been issued or confirmed at that time.

3. Business Registration Number

What it is: The unique number assigned when your business was legally incorporated or registered with a provincial, territorial, or federal government registry. 

Where to find it: 

1. Full Business Address

What it is: The complete physical street address of your business’s primary operating location. This should be a physical address, not a P.O. Box, and must include the civic number, street name, unit/suite number (if applicable), city, province/territory, and postal code. 

Where to find it: On official business documents such as your Business License, lease agreement for your commercial space, utility bills for the business, or on your latest corporate tax filing (e.g., T2 Corporate Income Tax Return).

2. Jurisdiction of Incorporation

What it is: The specific Canadian province or territory where your business was legally incorporated or where your sole proprietorship/partnership was officially registered. If your business was incorporated under federal law, you should select ‘Federal’. 

Where to find it: On your official incorporation documents (e.g., Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Incorporation, Certificate of Amalgamation) or your Master Business Licence. 

• For federally incorporated businesses, this information will be on documents issued by Corporations Canada. 
• For provincially registered businesses, it will be on documents from the relevant provincial corporate registry (e.g., BC Registries and Online Services, Registraire des entreprises du Québec, Ontario’s Companies and Personal Property Security Branch).

To verify your KYB details, you’ll need to upload clear copies of primary business registration documents.

Accepted documents include:

• Articles of Incorporation
• Master Business Licence
• Partnership Agreement
• Articles of Association
• Business Registration Extract (from provincial/territorial registry)
• CRA Business Number Registration confirmation (T1-FF, RC1, or similar)
• Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ) registration document (for Quebec businesses)
• Published Annual Report Signed by an Audit Firm

Know Your Customer (KYC) Verification

The KYC process focuses on verifying the identity of individuals associated with your business, specifically those with 25%+ ownership.

You’ll be asked to consent to Trulioo collecting your name, government photo ID, and image, and using automated facial comparison technology to match your live image with the photo on your government ID.  

Accepted documents include:

• Canadian Federal Documents:
  • Canadian Passport: The most common and widely accepted.
  • Permanent Resident Card: For individuals with permanent resident status in Canada.
  • Secure Certificate of Indian Status: Issued by Indigenous Services Canada.
• Canadian Provincial or Territorial Documents:
  • Provincial Driver’s License: From any Canadian province or territory (e.g., Ontario Driver’s License, BC Driver’s License, Alberta Driver’s License).
  • Provincial/Territorial Identification Card: (Often called a Photo ID Card, e.g., BCID in British Columbia, Ontario Photo Card). These are for individuals who don’t have a driver’s license.
• Other International Documents:
  • Global Entry Card
  • NEXUS Card
  • Passport
  • Driver’s License

For the document to be accepted, it must:

• Be authentic, valid, and current (not expired).
• Be issued by a federal, provincial, or territorial government. Municipal government IDs are not acceptable.
• Clearly indicate the person’s name.
• Include a photo of the person.
• Include a unique identifying number.
• Match the name and appearance of the person being identified.
• Cannot be a provincial health card.

If you do not consent to automated facial comparison, we require two separate sources to verify your identity.  

Accepted documents include:

• Government-issued photo identification document (a provincial health card is not accepted)
• A statement, form, certification issued by a Canadian government body (e.g., birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce documentation, permanent resident card, citizenship certificate, temporary driver’s license – non-photo) 
• Insurance Documents (e.g., auto, life)
• Travel visa
• Photo identification document issued by a foreign government (e.g. foreign driver’s license or passport) 
• Recent Utility Bill (e.g., electricity, gas, water, internet, landline phone – not mobile phone bill)
• Recent Bank Statement (from a Canadian financial institution)
• Recent Credit Card Statement (from a Canadian financial institution)
• Loan account statement (e.g. mortgage)
• Statement, form, certificate or other source issued by a Canadian government body (e.g. Canadian Pension Plan Statement, Property Tax Assessment, Vehicle Registration, CRA notice) 
• Record of Employment
• Registered Investment Account Statements (e.g., RRSP, TFSA, RRIF) 

Both your Know Your Business (KYB) and Know Your Customer (KYC) verification can be completed via the same secure link you were sent via email on July 7, 2025. Follow the simple steps below:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why is this required? SKIP is now subject to increased Know-Your-Business (KYB) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements due to updated Money Service Business regulations and their continued growth in the Canadian market. This means they are legally required to collect additional business-specific information and documentation to continue processing payments to their partners. Additionally, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires SKIP to maintain accurate tax information, including your business number, for all partners.
2. What information is required? For KYB verification, you will need to provide your business name, number, address, and jurisdiction of incorporation. For KYC verification, you will need to provide your name and date of birth. 
3. Is this mandatory? Yes, the collection of this information is mandatory for continued partnership. All partners must complete the Know Your Business (KYB) verification, and all individuals who own or control 25% or more of the shares, voting rights, or have direct or indirect control over the entity must complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. 
4. What if the business number is not provided? Merchants may be subject to a C$500 fine per taxpayer or legal entity. This fine will be enforced and issued by the CRA. Please refer to the CRA’s Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms for more information.
5. How can partners submit the required information? Partners will receive an email from SKIP containing a secure link to a form where the required information can be uploaded.
6. What are the general guidelines for submitting documents? All submitted documents and information must match exactly what is entered in the form to avoid delays. Documents must be clear, legible, complete (showing all corners and edges), and valid (not expired). They should be original PDF, JPEG, or PNG files; screenshots are not acceptable. Photos and scans must be in colour, especially for identity checks. If the back of a document contains required information, include it.
7. Why did my submissions/document uploads get rejected? Everything needs to match in order to approve it! That means:
   • For the Know Your Business (KYB) verification: The business address and the business registration number must appear on this document and match what is entered exactly.
   • For the Person of Significant Control’s (PSC’s) identity check: The individual’s ID must have a matching full name and date of birth with what is entered.
8. Is there an alternative to providing biometric information (automated facial comparison)? Yes. If you do not consent to automated facial comparison, you must provide two separate documents from different sources to verify your identity and comply with regulations. 
9. Why did SKIP not need this before? This regulation is based on the size of the business, and with SKIP’s continued growth in the Canadian market, we are now required to do this for all businesses to which we process payments. 
10. Is SKIP storing this data? No, Skip does not store your data. We have partnered with Trulioo, a trusted third-party provider specializing in secure data management and verification. Skip simply links directly to Trulioo’s secure system for the verification processes.
11. When will I know that my KYB and/or KYC form has been approved? Will I get a notification/call/email? You will receive an email confirming that the verification process is complete.  Due to the volume of submissions, it may take a few weeks to process, but Skip will contact you directly if any further information is needed.
12. What is Trulioo’s role in this process? Skip has partnered with Trulioo, a trusted third-party provider, to streamline and securely manage the KYB and KYC verification processes. Trulioo specializes in secure data management and verification. Skip does not directly store your data; it is linked to Trulioo’s secure system.
13. Is this a scam? No, this is a legitimate and mandatory process. This is not a fraudulent attempt or misinformation.

Questions?

Reach out to SKIP via the Message Us feature in the portal or your Account Manager.