A beneficial owner (BO) is a person or persons who ultimately owns or controls an interest in a legal entity, such as a company, a trust, or a foundation.
Different jurisdictions across the globe enforce requirements for financial institutions and banks to capture beneficial ownership information. This is required so as to ensure the identity of the BO is known, as part of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework. Beneficial Owners include ultimate business owners, authorized signatories, and control persons.
As part of Veem’s AML program, we are collecting and validating this information to keep your account and other accounts using the Veem payment infrastructure safe. This ultimately means that you are sending and receiving payments to entities that are not participating in any terrorist financing, human trafficking, and other nefarious activities, resulting in ‘peace of mind’, while you run your business.
Please see below for a list of the most common questions in regard to Beneficial Ownership.
When will this change be effective?
Veem will roll out updated Beneficial Ownership (BO) requirements for our clients in phases starting March 2nd, 2022.
We anticipate that the transition to our new BO data management system will be completed by the end of March 2022.
Why is Veem asking for these details?
Different jurisdictions across the globe enforce requirements for financial institutions and banks to capture beneficial ownership information to ensure the identity of BO in the business is known as part of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework. These requirements go by several names including “know your customer” (KYC).
Our goal is to provide you with an assurance that Veem is a safe platform that is compliant with robust regulatory guidelines laid down by different jurisdictions to protect you from bad actors with nefarious intentions. Collecting and validating the BO information helps us further this cause.
Who should provide this information?
Our U.S. and Canadian Veem customers are required to furnish the BO information which includes the Beneficial Owner, and a Control Person.
Providing this information will also pre-qualify you for additional Veem products such as Veem Wallet and Lines of Credit.
Who is considered an Owner?
Owner is defined per jurisdiction as someone who owns a percentage of the business and can effectively influence the direction of the business.
In Canada, a person who has at least 10% of total share ownership or voting rights is considered an owner.
In the USA, a person who has at least 25% of total share ownership or voting rights is considered an owner.
What to do If you don't have an owner?
You’ll need to declare no person or business owns beyond the ownership percentage defined by regulation in your jurisdiction and add the name of the control person. This can be done by following the steps here.
Who is a Control Person?
The Control Person is the top executive or manager of the business. Common titles are Chief Executive Officer, President, Managing Director, and Director.
What will happen if I don’t provide the details on time?
If you are unable to complete beneficial ownership information, please reach out to your account manager or Veem's client services team here.
Will this requirement affect my current payments?
We will notify you if any scheduled or new payments are going to be affected.
Do I need specific user permission to add the information?
Any user who has permission to manage an account’s settings (Access to Settings) can provide or edit and certify the information on beneficial ownership information is complete and accurate.
Do all accounts on Veem have to provide this information?
As of now, some accounts in certain countries, principally the U.S. and Canada will require BO information.
How can I fill in the Beneficial Ownership information?
To learn how to add the beneficial ownership details click here.
I already provided this information before. Do I have to fill it in again?
This is a recurring activity to ensure all changes to the beneficial ownership are captured in a timely manner. We request you to review the details already provided and add new details as required and confirm. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
To learn how to add your beneficial ownership information, please click here.
For more information, concerns, or inquiries, please reach out to client services.