Overview
How to create and verify individual and business customers before they can initiate transfers.
Before a customer can send or receive funds through SpherePay, they must be created and verified. SpherePay is a regulated money transmission business — identity verification is required by law before any transfer can be initiated.
Why Onboarding is Required
SpherePay operates under anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. Every customer who initiates or receives a transfer must have their identity confirmed before any funds move.
This applies to both types of customers SpherePay supports:
- Individuals — verified through KYC (government-issued ID, tax identification, liveness check)
- Businesses — verified through KYB (company documents, shareholder registry, UBO identity verification)
Prerequisite for Transfers
A customer whose verification profile is not approved cannot initiate or receive transfers. Complete onboarding before building any transfer logic.
Customer Types
SpherePay supports two customer types. Choose the type that matches your end user.
| Individual | Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Verification process | KYC (Know Your Customer) | KYB (Know Your Business) |
| Identity documents | Government-issued ID, tax identification number | Incorporation certificate, shareholder registry, director registry, UBO IDs |
| Liveness check | Required | Required for each UBO |
| Additional agreement | Terms of Service | Terms of Service + Merchant Service Agreement (MSA) |
| UBO verification | Not applicable | Required for all individuals with ≥ 25% ownership |
| Typical review time | 1–2 business days | 0–2 business days |
Onboarding Flow
Both customer types follow a structured path from creation to approval. Business onboarding includes additional steps for document collection and UBO verification.
Choose an Integration Method
Both customer types support two integration methods.
| API | Link | |
|---|---|---|
| You control | Every data collection and submission step | Only the redirect — SpherePay handles the rest |
| Frontend effort | High | Minimal |
| Best for | Custom onboarding UX embedded in your product | Fastest time to integration |
After Approval
Once a customer's verification profile status reaches approved, they can:
- Register a bank account — Bank Accounts
- Register a crypto wallet — Wallets
- Initiate a transfer — Transfers
For a full breakdown of what each verification status means and what triggers state changes, see the KYC & KYB Status Reference.
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