Executive identification information
To ensure the executive information is authentic and accurate, we need to verify the business ownership. We require verification for controllers and owners of the company.
A controller is a natural person who holds significant responsibilities to control, manage or direct a company or other corporate entity (i.e. CEO, CFO, General Partner, President, etc). A company may have more than one controller, but only one controller’s information must be collected.
A beneficial owner is a natural person who, directly or indirectly, owns 25% or more of a company. No information needs to be collected if there are no natural persons who own 25% or more of a company. A beneficial owner cannot be another company (or other corporate entity), nor a nominee owner.
How is the 25% Ownership Determined for a Beneficial Owner?
If a natural person owns 25% or more of a company, they are beneficial owners. For example, if three people each directly own 33% of a company, then each individual is a beneficial owner. However, indirect ownership must be identified when a company is owned by other companies (or corporate entities).
For example, Big Corp, Inc. opens a business VCR account. Big Corp’s ownership structure is as follows:
Kathy Smith, an individual, owns 25%
Jane Lee, an individual, owns 25%
Small Corp, Inc., a corporate entity, owns 50%
The customer due diligence rule requires identifying any natural person who owns 25% or more of a company. Therefore, both Kathy Smith and Jane Lee must have their information collected and verified.
In our example, we must also extend our examination into the ownership structure of Small Corp, Inc. Small Corp’s ownership structure is as follows:
Michael Doe, an individual, owns 50%
Several other individuals, who each own less than 10%
Michael Doe owns 50% of Small Corp, which owns 50% of Big Corp, which means that Michael Doe indirectly owns 25% of Big Corp. As a natural person who owns 25% or more of Big Corp, Michael Doe is a beneficial owner of Big Corp, and his information must be collected and verified.
How are Public Traded Companies verified?
Public traded companies are exempt from providing the beneficiary owners and can move forward without that information.
They only need to add, at least, one controller from their entity directly (not a parent one). The rule of thumb is that controller is often a person who can legally sign the agreement in the company's name. This could be the CEO, COO, CFO, President, etc.
This person must provide their SSN or a passport number if they are not US residents.
This data (including SSN) will only be used during the verification process to maintain regulatory compliance.
Executive documents accepted:
Driver’s license (US only)
Passport
State ID (US only)
Quality guidelines:
Allowed file types: PNG or JPG
Must be a color copy
Must be a photo (we don’t accept scanned images)
Must have a valid date
Must be legible
Must show all 4 corners of the document
Business information
We must verify the business owner to ensure the business information is authentic and accurate. We require verification of the company’s current business nature.
Business documents accepted:
EIN Letter (IRS-issued SS4 confirmation letter)
Filed and stamped Articles of Organization or Incorporation
Sales/Use Tax License
Business License
Certificate of Good Standing
Quality guidelines:
Allowed file types: PDF, PNG, or JPG
Must be a color copy
Must be a photo (we don’t accept scanned images)
Must have a valid date, if applicable
Must be legible
Must show all 4 corners of the document
Bank Account Verification
Plaid Verification
We use Plaid to connect your bank account with Pilot securely. Their interactive wizard will guide you through the process.
We never store any sensitive information or credentials on our servers. They’re only ever seen by Plaid, which is owned by Visa. You can read about their security policies here.
Questions?
Please don't hesitate to contact us at support@plane.com or use the live chat option.