In July 2023, we announced upcoming changes to the verification requirements for Canada-based Standard and Express connected accounts. As of February 8, 2024, the Stripe onboarding flow has been updated to collect the required information from new Standard and Express connected accounts.

Starting April 8, 2024, we'll start reaching out to existing connected accounts via email and the Dashboard that need to provide updated information. If an account doesn't provide the required information by the applicable deadline, their payouts and ability to accept charges will be paused. Platforms with Canada-based connected accounts can monitor the status of their accounts using the Accounts to Review list in the Dashboard.

There is no action required for platforms with only Standard and/or Express connected accounts, but we recommend reviewing the details of what's changing and sharing them with impacted connected accounts to help them understand how this may impact their business. You may also want to share the link to this dedicated support article with your connected accounts to help them understand what's changing.

What’s changing?

We now collect the following business information for Canadian connected accounts accepting card payments or transfers:

• Phone numbers and titles of representatives (required by all businesses)
• Names and email addresses of directors if your business is a corporation, registered charity, or non-profit organizations
• Names, dates of birth, and email addresses of owners if your business is a corporation or partnership (for partnerships, an owner is defined as any individual owning 25% or more of the entity)
• A business phone number must be provided by all businesses except individual entities and sole proprietorships

Note that we've also added clarity to the existing Tax ID requirement:

• For registered charities, the Tax ID refers to the 15-character Canada Revenue Agency program account number. The program identifier must be “RR”.

• For corporations, publicly traded companies, and partnerships, this field refers to the Registry ID, Corporation Number (7-digit number), or Québec Enterprise Number (NEQ) (10-digit number). Provide any one.

We also be performing the following verifications:

• Verification of company representatives is required for all businesses
• Verification of legal entity is required for all businesses except individuals and sole proprietors
• Verification of directorship is required for corporations, registered charities, and non-profit organizations
• Verification of registration status is required for registered charities

If we are unable to verify particular details, we may need to request additional documents. Here is the complete list of Acceptable Verification Documents for Canada.

Which types of connected accounts are affected by these updated requirements?

These changes will affect all connected accounts with the card_payments and transfer capability enabled capability enabled in Canada

What happens if my connected accounts don’t provide the required information?

We will contact affected Canadian connected accounts via email and the Dashboard with details about the information they need to provide and the deadline for them to respond. If an account doesn't provide the required information by that deadline, their ability to accept payments from customers and send payouts to their bank account will be paused.

Are there any exceptions to the requirements or deadlines?

No, there are no exceptions to the requirements or deadlines.

How many of my connected accounts are affected by this change? Which specific connected accounts are affected?

You’ll be able to see the status of affected connected accounts in the new Accounts to review list in the Dashboard.

Last year, I heard requirements were changing in India, Brazil and Singapore—what is happening with these countries?

We have extended the deadlines for new onboarding requirements in Singapore, India, and Brazil. See our roadmap for the latest in changing global requirements.

Why is this happening?

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) released a new set of regulations in April, 2022 that requires Stripe to register as a money services business in Canada. This introduces additional Know Your Customer and Know Your Business requirements that impact connected accounts with either the card_payments or transfers capability.

Will requirements continue to change?

Yes. As regulatory requirements evolve globally, we expect our onboarding requirements to continue changing as well. If you use embedded onboarding components or Stripe-hosted onboarding, we’ll automatically update your onboarding flow to handle the latest verification requirements. If you use API-based onboarding, you’ll need to manually modify your onboarding flow whenever requirements change. Learn more about the different onboarding methods in our documentation.