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US Onboarding

Learn how to onboard businesses and individuals in the United States using Customer Onboarding v5.

For more information about onboarding, see Customer Onboarding.

Onboarding corporations​

Nium supports manual KYB and electronic KYB (eKYB) when onboarding businesses in the US.

  • Electronic KYB (eKYB): Automatically retrieves information about the business and can reduce the number of documents required at submission.
  • Manual KYB: Applies if electronic verification can’t find or confirm company records. The applicant manually provides details and documents as required.

For stakeholders, both electronic and manual verification options are available.

eKYB​

Follow these steps to onboard a business using eKYB.

Step 1: Fetch public corporate details​

  1. Collect the applicant’s businessRegistrationNumber (EIN) and countryCode from your onboarding form.
  2. Use the Fetch Public Corporate Details request to retrieve publicly available company information.
  3. Display the details to the applicant for confirmation.
  4. Store the publicDetailsId from the response.
  5. If no details are returned, skip to manual KYB and use the Create Customer v5 request.

Step 2: Fetch exhaustive corporate search details​

  1. Use the Fetch Exhaustive Corporate Details request and include the publicDetailsId.
  2. Save the searchId from the response.
note

The Fetch Exhaustive Corporate Details request retrieves detailed corporate records and incurs a one-time lookup fee per search. For more information, contact your Nium account manager or Nium Support.

Step 3: Display and complete details​

  1. Verify the returned corporate details with the applicant, including directors and ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs).
    • Field names align with the details submitted in the Create Customer v5 request.
    • Collect any required information that’s missing before proceeding.
  2. Upload stakeholder details. Both electronic and manual verification options are available for stakeholders.
Stakeholder verification — electronic​

If electronic verification is selected for a stakeholder, the applicant can copy and share a verification link with them. The stakeholder completes verification by uploading a valid proof of identity and a live selfie. The applicant can track the stakeholder’s KYB status on the hosted form.

Stakeholder verification — manual​

If a stakeholder chooses Manual Verification, they upload all required documentation using Nium’s hosted form.

For a list of required documents, see US Required Documents.

Step 4: Upload documents​

  1. If searchId is not provided, document uploads are required.
    • Even with a searchId, additional documents may still be requested.
  2. Use the Upload Document request to submit files. The response includes a fileId, which must be referenced when onboarding the business.

For document types and tips to reduce RFIs, see US Required Documents.

Step 5: Applicant declaration​

The applicant must confirm the following:

note

I certify that I am an authorized representative of the customer.
All information and documents provided are complete and accurate.
I confirm that all UBOs have been disclosed and that I have accepted the Nium Terms and Conditions.

The applicant can accept the declaration through a clickwrap. Send Nium confirmation of the declaration by including the following when onboarding:

  • applicantDeclaration
  • applicantDeclarationTimeStamp (timestamp in YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS format)

Step 6: Submit corporate details​

  1. Onboard the business using the Create Customer v5 request and include all the required details, including searchId.
  2. If searchId is omitted, the application proceeds through manual review.
  3. A successful response returns a customerHashId that can be used to track onboarding progress.

Manual KYB​

For details on how to manually onboard businesses, see Corporate Customers.

Position mapping​

Business verification (KYB)​

US business onboarding requires submission of required documents and offline compliance review.

A blank table cell means that position is not applicable for that businessType. You can also call Fetch Corporate Constants with category = positions.

Adding stakeholders​

  • Directors: Add management directors as stakeholders. Board members are not required unless they are also officers/UBOs.
  • UBOs: Tag all shareholders who own more than 25% (directly or indirectly) as UBO. If no one meets the threshold, declare the most senior director as UBO.
  • Control prong: Include at least one CONTROL_PRONG in the application. The control prong must be an officer.
  • Required UBO coverage: Include at least one UBO for LIMITED_LIABILITY_COMPANY, CORPORATION, and PUBLIC_COMPANY.
  • Signatory/representative: Add the individual(s) who will conduct transactions as SIGNATORY and/or REPRESENTATIVE. The applicant is typically a REPRESENTATIVE by default.
  • Multi-layer ownership: If another corporate owns more than 25% directly or indirectly, declare all corporate stakeholders in the ownership chain and include an ownership chart. See US Required Documents.

Onboarding individuals​

Nium supports electronic KYC (eKYC) to onboard individuals in the US. If electronic verification is unavailable or unsuccessful, the individual can complete verification through manual document submission in the hosted form.

Follow these steps to onboard an individual using the hosted flow.

Step 1: Submit application​

Create a customer using the Create Customer v5 request and include all required details.

After submission, the application status becomes pending with the substatus awaiting_kyc.

Step 2: Access the hosted KYC form​

To complete KYC, ask the customer to open Nium’s hosted KYC form. The customer verifies access with a one-time password (OTP) sent to their registered email.

Step 3: Complete verification​

The applicant (and any required stakeholders) completes verification in the hosted form. Depending on the flow, this includes uploading a valid proof of identity and a live selfie, and may include additional documents.

For document requirements, see US Required Documents.

Step 4: Compliance review and RFIs​

Nium’s compliance team reviews all submissions.

If additional details are required, Nium raises a request for more information (RFI) or request for more information (RFI), depending on the customer type.

Once KYC for all applicants and stakeholders is complete:

  • The application status remains pending.
  • The substatus becomes under_review.

Nium verifies the details and sends a response via webhook.

Next steps​