This article will answer some of the commonly asked questions about the process of enabling payments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I have to provide personal information to process payments?
When opening any financial account, including a payment processing account at Platform, you are required to provide personal information. Financial institutions and their financial partners are required by law to identify and verify the identity of their customers in order to prevent financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is the regulatory agency responsible for enforcing the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which outlines the requirements for customer identification and verification. Under the BSA, financial institutions and their financial partners, such as our payments partner, are required to establish and maintain an effective Customer Identification Program (CIP) that includes verifying the identity of the beneficial owners and/or authorized signer and controlling members of a merchant.
For more information on FinCEN, visit the FinCEN website. For more information about the Bank Secrecy Act, view the Customer Identification Program section of the BSA/AML (Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering) Manual.
Whose identity needs to be verified at my organization?
Federal regulations require all entities accepting electronic payments provide information on owners or, in cases of entities with no owners, a person with 'substantial control'. Individuals with 'substantial control' are often called a Control Prong or Authorized Signer, someone with authority to enter legally binding agreements on behalf of the entity. Given that there are no owners of Government entities, an authorized signer's information should be provided.
Are any business types exempt from providing personal data?
There are no exemptions to providing owner or authorized signer information. However, government entities are not required to provide a Date of Birth or a Social Security Number for authorized signers.
Who do you share personal data with?
Service providers: Our payment partner shares your data, including underwriting and onboarding data, with third-party service providers (such as identity verification providers and fraud services).
Financial partners: In order to provision and provide payment processing services (such as provisioning a merchant identification number, providing tax reporting, and deposit funds), our payments partner shares your data with financial institutions, processors, payment card associations, and other entities that are involved in the payment process, such as our sponsor bank.
Your data is only utilized for required compliance verification purposes.
Where is my information stored?
Your information, including Social Security Numbers (when applicable), banking information, and card numbers, is securely collected and stored by our payment partners. Our providers comply with the highest industry standards and have been third-party vetted by both PCI and SOC2 auditors.
Your sensitive information is collected and encrypted upon entry and never touches our internal systems.Your data is only used to confirm your identity in compliance with regulatory requirements.
How does CivicPlus verify the identity of authorized signers?
To comply with regulatory requirements and standards, CivicPlus will typically ask for and verify personal information such as the authorized signer's name and address. CivicPlus may also ask for additional information depending on the nature of the legal entity or the result of verification.
It is important to note that failure to provide accurate and complete information can result in a delay or inability for CivicPlus and its payment partners to open a payment processing account.