Platform vs Sphere-Managed Onboarding
How compliance steps are handled across your onboarding integration — and how to choose the right model for your platform.
Overview
When onboarding end users through Sphere's API, there are two models for how compliance steps — identity verification, liveness checks, legal agreements, and contact verification — are handled.
Sphere-Managed Onboarding (Default) — Sphere handles compliance steps in-flow using hosted links and redirects. Available to all new integrations out of the box.
Platform-Managed Onboarding (Opt-in) — Your platform handles compliance steps upstream and passes the results to Sphere via the API. Available to platforms that already perform KYC/KYB, collect liveness, and embed Sphere's Terms of Service — subject to Compliance approval.
Sphere-Managed is the default
All new API integrations use the Sphere-Managed model by default. Platform-Managed onboarding is opt-in and requires qualification — see the prerequisites below.
Comparison
| Compliance Step | Sphere-Managed (Default) | Platform-Managed (Opt-in) |
|---|---|---|
| Individual liveness verification (KYC) | In-flow face liveness check via Sumsub SDK | Upload a liveness report document from your KYC/KYB provider via API |
| UBO liveness verification (KYB) | In-flow face liveness check via Sumsub SDK | Upload a liveness report document from your KYC/KYB provider via API |
| Phone verification | Sphere-managed phone OTP flow | Not required — handled by your platform |
| Email verification | Sphere-managed email OTP flow | Not required — handled by your platform |
| Terms of Service acceptance | In-flow ToS acceptance via hosted link | Embedded in your platform's ToS — see prerequisites below |
| MSA execution (business only) | In-flow MSA signing via hosted link | Completed with Sphere prior to onboarding |
When to Use Each Model
| Your platform... | Recommended model |
|---|---|
| Does not perform KYC/KYB | Sphere-Managed (default) — Sphere handles everything in-flow |
| Performs KYC/KYB but does not collect liveness | Sphere-Managed — Sphere handles liveness and OTP |
| Already performs KYC/KYB and collects liveness | Platform-Managed (opt-in) — upload liveness reports, embed ToS |
| Handles legal agreements but not identity verification | Contact your Solutions Engineer to discuss a hybrid configuration |
For Platform-Managed qualification or hybrid configurations, contact your dedicated Solutions Engineer.
Platform-Managed Prerequisites
Platform-Managed is opt-in and requires Sphere Compliance approval before going live. Complete the following setup steps, then contact your dedicated Solutions Engineer to begin the qualification process.
1. Embed Sphere's Terms of Service
Your platform's Terms of Service must reference Sphere's Terms of Service. There are two accepted approaches:
- Append Sphere's ToS at the end of your own ToS, or
- Link to Sphere's ToS within your ToS with language indicating that you use Sphere as a partner — e.g., "We use Sphere to provide payment services. By accepting these terms, you also agree to Sphere's Terms of Service."
For business accounts, your ToS must also reference the Master Service Agreement:
https://spherepay.co/legal/msa/latest
Your end users do not need to separately click "accept" for Sphere's ToS — displaying or linking to it within your own agreement is sufficient.
Compliance review required
Sphere's Compliance team must review and approve your integrated ToS/MSA before your application can go live in production. Contact your dedicated Solutions Engineer to initiate this review.
2. Prepare Liveness Report Documents
Since in-flow face liveness checks are not used in the Platform-Managed model, you must instead upload a liveness report document for each individual customer (KYC) and each business representative/UBO (KYB). This document should be the output of your platform's own liveness verification process — for example, from a provider such as Sumsub or Persona.
3. Handle Contact Verification Upstream
Your platform is responsible for verifying phone numbers and email addresses for your end users. Sphere will not perform OTP verification in the Platform-Managed model.
Confirm Setup with Sphere
Once you have completed these setup steps, contact your dedicated Solutions Engineer to initiate the Compliance review. After approval, Sphere will enable your application for the Platform-Managed model.
Compliance Checklist — Platform-Managed
Before going live, ensure:
- Your ToS references Sphere's Terms of Service (
spherepay.co/terms) - For business accounts: your ToS/MSA references Sphere's MSA (
spherepay.co/legal/msa/latest) - Sphere Compliance has reviewed and approved your integrated ToS/MSA
- Your platform collects liveness verification and can produce liveness report documents
- Your platform verifies customer phone numbers and email addresses
- You have tested the full onboarding flow in the SpherePay sandbox
Sphere-Managed Onboarding
Sphere-Managed is the default model and is available to all new integrations without any additional setup. Sphere handles all compliance steps in-flow:
Liveness Verification — Sphere generates a face verification link for each customer or UBO. The end user completes an interactive liveness check via the Sumsub SDK. For individual customers, this is triggered during KYC; for UBOs, it is triggered during KYB.
Terms of Service & MSA — Sphere generates hosted links for ToS acceptance and, for business accounts, MSA execution. The integrator must surface these links to end users and handle the redirect flow.
Contact Verification (OTP) — Sphere manages phone and email OTP verification during onboarding. The customer must complete OTP before onboarding progresses.
Integration Guides
Choose the guide that matches your customer type.
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