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When a business opens a Meridian Account, Meridian collects the information below for Know Your Business (KYB) verification. This page explains what is asked for and why, so you know what to gather before you start. For how the information is collected and submitted, see Onboarding your customer.
Every program is configured differently. This page describes the information Meridian typically collects. It is not a contract, and it is not a field reference.Your program’s actual requirements are returned by the Information Request API: which items apply, whether each is mandatory, the field names to submit, and the accepted values. Build your integration against the schema that API returns, not against this page.
All information is subject to independent verification, and Meridian may request additional documentation at any time.

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Business information

Details about the legal entity itself.
  • Benefit corporation
  • Closely held corporation
  • Cooperative
  • Corporation
  • General partnership
  • Limited liability company
  • Limited partnership
  • Nonprofit corporation
  • Non-US entity
  • Small business corporation
  • Sole proprietorship

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People connected to the business

Everyone connected to the business is submitted as a separate entry, and each entry carries one or more roles.

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Roles

One person can hold several roles. A CEO who owns 40% and signs the application is a control person, a beneficial owner, and the signer, all in a single entry. Beneficial owner and shareholder are treated the same, so use whichever matches your records.
List a person’s most significant role first. Some verification paths read only the first role in the list.

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Who to list

Required. At least one person must be marked as the signer. Submission fails without one. Recommended. To pass verification without follow-up questions, the people you list should also cover all three of:
  • one beneficial owner (or shareholder)
  • one director
  • one control person
One person can cover all four. If ownership is spread thin and no individual stands out as an owner, list the senior manager who runs the business as the beneficial owner.

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Ownership percentage

Every person carries an ownership percentage, and two rules are enforced when you submit:
  • each person’s percentage must be a whole number between 0 and 100
  • the total across all people cannot exceed 100
The total does not have to reach 100. A total below 100 is normal and passes, since the individuals you list may hold only part of the business, with the rest held through other entities. Someone with no stake, such as a signer who owns nothing, is submitted with zero.

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Age

Everyone listed must be at least 18 years old, checked against their date of birth. A date of birth in the future is rejected.

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Documents about each person

Uploaded for each person connected to the business. Identity document. Upload a passport, or both sides of a driver’s license:
  • If you send a passport, it satisfies the identity requirement and any driver’s license files are ignored. They are still stored, they just do not count as the identity document.
  • If you send no passport, both license sides are required. One side without the other is rejected when you submit.
  • A passport also silences the missing-side error. A passport plus a front-only license passes, because the passport is checked first.
Recommended. Reviewers expect identity documents to be unexpired and proof of address to be dated within 90 days.Not accepted for proof of address: PO box addresses, mobile phone bills, screenshots with no issuer name, and documents in another person’s name.

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Documents about the business

Uploaded once for the business. All three are PDF only.
The names and percentages on the ownership document must match the people you listed. A mismatch is the most common reason an application comes back for more information.
Recommended. Reviewers expect proof of registration to show the entity as currently active, proof of ownership to be dated within 12 months or after the last ownership change, and the bank statement to be the most recent, within 90 days.

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Upload rules

These apply to every document:
  • 10 MB maximum, one file per document. Re-uploading replaces the previous file.
  • File type is checked against the content type your client sends and the file extension. Send the correct content type, or the upload is rejected.
  • Full page, all four corners visible, text readable.
  • English, or include a certified translation.
  • Name, address, dates, and the issuer must stay visible. You may hide transaction lines and all but the last four digits of an account number.

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Other requirements

Depending on the features enabled for your program, Meridian may collect more than the above, such as a settlement bank account for the destination currency, a destination wallet address, or a routing policy. The Information Request API returns the exact set of requirements for your program, including any of these.