Before payments can be authorised, we need to verify the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of your business. This is a regulatory requirement under Australia's AML/CTF Act.
Who counts as a beneficial owner?
A beneficial owner is an individual who:
- Owns or controls 25% or more of the entity's shares or voting rights — directly or indirectly (e.g. through a shareholding entity); or
- Exercises significant control over the entity's finances or management
Where possible, we identify beneficial owners using records from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to save you time.
How it works by business type
Private Companies
We obtain officeholder and shareholder records from ASIC, so beneficial owners are typically pre-filled during onboarding. You can add individuals manually if the company structure has recently changed or if someone is missing — but note that you'll later be asked to provide evidence of their connection to the business.
Public Companies
For public companies, we don't need to verify shareholders — only officeholders. As with private companies, we obtain these from ASIC so they're typically pre-filled. You don't need to add shareholders manually.
You can add individuals if the structure has recently changed or someone is missing, with evidence of their connection to the business.
Sole Traders
The sole trader is the beneficial owner. We obtain this information from ASIC — you don't need to enter anything manually.
Trusts
ASIC records don't cover trusts, so we'll ask you to provide the beneficial owners directly. This includes:
- All individual trustees
- The beneficial owners of any corporate trustees (individuals who own or control 25%+ of shares or voting rights, or exercise significant management control)
You do not need to include the beneficiaries of the trust.
Partnerships
ASIC records don't cover partnerships, so we'll ask you to provide the beneficial owners directly. This includes:
- All individual partners
- The beneficial owners of any corporate partners (individuals who own or control 25%+ of shares or voting rights, or exercise significant management control)