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Shopify ID verification for shopify payments

aliasif12
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi so i have a UK LTD company on my name but im not a resident of United kingdom i was just wondering how do i prove my identity when shopify payments ask me for identity verification? since being a non resident i dont have the utility bills.

Accepted Solution (1)

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

This is an accepted solution.

Hi @aliasif12,

Nick here from Shopify. 

Good question. If you could share what government ID you do have and the appropriate team can look into it and advise you from there/let you know if anything else is needed. 

If you could share as much of the following it would be hugely beneficial to help you in this instance: 

  • Proof that your business is registered in that country with the government.
  • Proof you are operating from the country in which you would like to have Shopify Payments.
  • You have a legitimate address in that country (not a forwarding address, you must be able to provide power/phone bills).
  • You have a bank account located in that country (Payoneer or other money transferring services that mimic bank accounts in a location will not suffice).

You can also see the Shopify help guide here which shows the countries Shopify Payments is available in and what's necessary for each country. 

All the best, Nick

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

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Replies 66 (66)

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

This is an accepted solution.

Hi @aliasif12,

Nick here from Shopify. 

Good question. If you could share what government ID you do have and the appropriate team can look into it and advise you from there/let you know if anything else is needed. 

If you could share as much of the following it would be hugely beneficial to help you in this instance: 

  • Proof that your business is registered in that country with the government.
  • Proof you are operating from the country in which you would like to have Shopify Payments.
  • You have a legitimate address in that country (not a forwarding address, you must be able to provide power/phone bills).
  • You have a bank account located in that country (Payoneer or other money transferring services that mimic bank accounts in a location will not suffice).

You can also see the Shopify help guide here which shows the countries Shopify Payments is available in and what's necessary for each country. 

All the best, Nick

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

azeemhaider1
New Member
7 0 0

Hi @Nick ,

I recently activated my shopify payments and after one day Shopify is asking for Photo ID and Utility Bill verification. According to your reply it seems I have to submit a bill related to my organisation but Shopify has expressed they want a document that shows the individual’s address. Also What type of utility bill will work Mobile or Water or Electricity? Looking Forward.

22.jpg

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @azeemhaider1,

In this instance, it would be any utility bill you have but it must be the same address associated with your Shopify Payments set up. So they must match in this case. It wouldn't matter if it's a personal or business utility bill, but it must be the same address. It can be any of the types you mentioned below or an internet bill also, anything along those lines would work as long as it is the same address and your name. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

azeemhaider1
New Member
7 0 0

Hello @Nick 

Can I provide my UK Company documents as a proof of address. It has the same address as of my shopify payments.

Will it work?

 

Looking Forward,

Regards.

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @azeemhaider1,

Company bills should also work. When you say documents, can you elaborate a little, please? If it is something you created it might not suffice, it would be best to have a bill of any kind which was sent to you by a third party. But it must be the same address as your Shopify Payments, that part is vital. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

meikewiese
Visitor
3 0 0

I'm in the same situation. I registered a limited company in the UK with an agency providing me an address. Now Shopify is asking for a utility bill or ID that shows the shop address. How am I supposed to proof the address? I gave them my registration bill, my certificate, everything basically. They didn't accept so what am I supposed to do? I want to operate under this address and not my home address in Germany.

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @meikewiese,

I just want to confirm what you are saying/asking to make sure I understand. You have registered a company in the UK, but are not operating from there in any way? You are operating the business from Germany in terms of warehouse, distribution, office etc. Usually, the documents requested are to prove an operational address such as a utility bill, lease agreement or insurance document to show it is not just a forwarding address. To be eligible for Shopify Payments you must be registered and operating from the same country. Something to remember is that Germany is on the list of approved countries for Shopify Payments also. 

25-34-o3t45-z8dw6

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

meikewiese
Visitor
3 0 0

I'm in the UK and will be staying here. I don't have proof of address in the UK yet. And I don't want to use my home address. What would be your advice? I Just moved here. I won't be operating from Germany.

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @meikewiese, there are a few different things to consider with this but at the end of the day, it is ultimately up to you to decide how you want to proceed:

1.) You could use your UK home address temporarily for this. You would still be asked to provide proof of it in the same way (like a utility bill, lease agreement, etc.) Then later if you wanted to update to a business address, that could be sent to our tax team to help them with that (we’d ask for proof of the business address at that stage). 

2.) You could set up your payment gateway with a third-party partnered gateway in the UK temporarily and once you have a UK business address to then re-apply to switch over to Shopify Payments. It would be better to do this than set up without a UK address (such as a German business address) in the sense of if it is rejected, you would then need to appeal to the Risk assessment team who's decision is normally final on these matters. 

I understand neither of these is completely ideal, but they would be the best and most appropriate ways around this for you. I would NOT suggest chancing it with a German address for a UK based store or vice versa.

 
 

 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

spasterfield
Tourist
5 0 13

Hi, I have been using Shopify since 2017 and have never had an issue with payments, but today I receive a banner on my store that says 'To continue receiving payouts, you need to update your name in order to verify your identity.'

When I click on 'Update Personal Details' it takes me to a textbox with the correct name... meaning I have already entered the correct name years ago.

In addition I am unable to find anywhere on entire website or phone app to change my name, or to upload a photo ID.

Is this an error with Shopify? It seems very odd that all of a sudden everyone has had their payments paused.

Thankyou

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi everyone,

Shopify merchants utilizing Shopify Payments are undergoing a verification process to ensure the information on their Shopify Payments accounts is up to date, complete and accurate. Shopify needs to be compliant with local laws and therefore we need to collect this information. If you are based in the USA or Europe there is some follow-up documentation you can see for this with more information below: 

 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Xandrea
Tourist
37 0 3

I am from Philippines and registered my business in UK.

banned
SamD1
Tourist
5 0 0

Dear Nick

 

My daughters are an intl band who I manage and are on tour for 8 months of the year based out the UK because bulk of the fans who buy merch are from the UK we set up a shopify about 2 years 

ago with the adress we base from in the UK and also where our merchandise is stocked and stored and sent from. Due to covid we have been unable to tour and stuck in our home country South Africa till we head back out in April for the next 8 month tour. We do have UK bank account to accept stripe payments. I have uloaded my SA drivers, SA passport but it keeps coming back as not accepted? I have asked the man who owns the house we rent when we are in the UK and where we stock all our merchandise to please send us a lease agreement as we hope this will suffice? We intend to register as a company in both UK/USA in the coming months as the band is growing and because we intend to immigrate. Please could you advise? 

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @SamD1,

This would be a case of you having to verify you operate out of the UK. But the passports / ID you have been uploading are from South Africa so Stripe is not accepting the ID you are putting through. You should be fine staying listed as the UK, given what you have said about renting a house there but you need to be able to prove that. If you don't have an ID with a UK address, that is fine, but if you have a property rented there, a lease agreement or utility bill from the house should work. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

SamD1
Tourist
5 0 0

Dear Nick! thanks so much ! We have uploaded a lease agreement. We absolutely love shopify and are in the process of trying to streamline the brand and everything within a company so that going forward we will be able to build the business aspect of the band. When we have formed a LLC which we are in the process of doing UK/USA how will we change the paperwork for the shop to make it into a full business? Will you be able to help/guide us with the process? Merchandise and live streaming is our only way to see us through till we are back on the road next from March. Thankyou so much for taking the time to respond and to give guidance? SIncerely Sam

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @SamD1,

Great to hear you have uploaded the document. In terms of what happens next with that, it would be a different team that would look into/deal with it, not myself. With regards to transferring ownership of the store, I would recommend you read up a little more about that before making any decisions about it, Shopify has a guide with more information about it here. It wouldn't necessarily make sense to transfer to someone in the USA if you are based in the UK. 

I wonder if there's any other form of ID you could give along with the lease here? Would you have any sort of bill from the business in the UK, such as a utility, office, warehouse bill or anything like that? 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

SamD1
Tourist
5 0 0

Hi Nick  this is becoming very frustrating. Would it be ok if we then either changed the owner details to one of my daughters who is the band as I think because South African Id's dont have adresses on them but my daughter has a french social security card which includes an adress with the photo ? I already have made on a staff member so if need be can also change over ownership to her? As mentioned before we are usually on tour from april to november but we are all stuck here in Cape Town at the moment till we head back out on tour. All our albums are stored at the base we rent and this is from where they are shipped when fans/customers buy. Please could you help?

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @SamD1,

It's difficult to give advice and see exactly what you're doing without taking a closer look. I think it might be best to move this to email and verify your store details so I can send this to the team who work on this directly for you. I have sent you an email on the account you signed up to the community with, please reply to me there. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

SamD1
Tourist
5 0 0

Dear Nick WOW thankyou! email received and responded! thankyou sincerely for taking such care and being so patient!

SamD1
Tourist
5 0 0

Dear Nick please could you take a look so I did as you suggested and uploaded a pic of lease agreement however when I logged in now a message still pops up that I need to submit a photo id etc I have uploaded my passport, my dirvers and a lease agreement for the house we lease and hold our merchandise in the UK. I see there is also an option to transfer owenrship would it help if I transferred ownership to our usa partner? Would we still be able to use our store?

Xandrea
Tourist
37 0 3

We are in the same situation. Have you resolved it?

banned
Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Xandrea,

What is your exact situation? Let me know and I can give you the best advice on the next steps then. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Xandrea
Tourist
37 0 3

They asked for my proof of address and I don't have it. My business is registered in UK for LTD. As far as I know, Shopify is partnered with Stripe. I got verified in Stripe but not in Shopify payment. I even sent some alternative like lease contract letter but they still did not approve it.

banned
BilalZahid
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi Azeem,

I am facing the same issue. I have a company registered in UK but don't have the utility bills for the verifcation.

Did you find the solution?

Bil1
Visitor
3 0 0

Is your issue resolved, and how? 

kindly help me also if it is resolved till now 

anonymousprsn
Visitor
1 0 0

Hey @Bil1  is your issue resolved? if so please do share with me I am stuck at same problem, Thanks!

Redbarrenx
Visitor
2 0 0

Hi @Nick 

I am now having the same issue:

I am now living in Spain where my Shopify account is registered and the payments are all under my Spanish accounting agency's address, as they process and pay all my taxes for my store.

I am on a UK passport and so have no utility bills of my own, but you're saying that the address of the store needs to be on the utility bill, that is something my accountants should be able to easily provide for me, but it will be under their company name, not mine. I need to know what to ask them for exactly in this case.

Please advise how to move forwards as I won't be able to receive any Shopify payments after Oct 28 till this is resolved.

Thanks

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Redbarrenx,

I'm not sure I completely understand your exact issue. Spain is eligible for Shopify Payments and I would find it very unlikely you have it listed under the address of your accountant. Are you seeing any new instructions or banners in your admin?

If so, I would add the documents to be in the name that is mentioned at the top of the form. And ideally, they should be Spanish documents, because you are using Shopify Payments Spain. But if you only have UK documentation to upload, use that and our payment processing partners will review it from there. 

If not, can you let me know what the issue exactly is, please?

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Redbarrenx
Visitor
2 0 0

Hi @Nick

Thanks for the reply. To try and simplify the issue. Think of my accountant
agency as the business I am registered under, trading as an employee of
theirs, so the address and Spanish Tax ID is under their name, so they can
process all the invoices etc. Under name of legal business in my settings.

I believe this is the proof of address I need
to upload (under address verification), in order to match the address in my
Shopify account?

As I said, I'm on a British Passport and British Driver's License, they
both have my London address on them. I am in the process of getting
residency in Spain and have no utility bills under my name here whatsoever.

I've attached what the admin banner says. It popped up recently.

Thanks

Proof-of-AddressCrop.JPGProof of Address2.JPG

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Redbarrenx,

Thanks for sharing, it is what I thought it was. For this, you would need to upload your own Photo ID and also an address document in your name (not the agency). Ideally, if it could be Spanish documents because you are using Shopify Payments Spain? But if you only have UK documentation, upload that either way, and our payment processing partners will review it for you then. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

AnwerShubbar
Tourist
5 0 1

Hello

I'm having a problem about the ID verification documents

I uploaded a photo of my passport and my shopify account name is the same as my passport name and i uploaded the utility bill also same address as in my shopify payment but the utility name isn't the same as the ID because i don't pay for the utility bills

So the next day i received a message saying ( to continue receiving payouts you need to update your name in order to verify your identity) and i did and it appears again the next day and it happened 4 times

And there is another message saying ( a document you previously submitted was not valid) i contacted the support and said they've been approved and don't need to submit again

But i still don't know why it keeps appearing is it an error or something? Because I'm worried that i can't receive payments or payouts and it is stressing me out 

Could you help me with that? 

Best regards 

 

Anwer

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @AnwerShubbar,

My guess is the error is popping up as the proof of address is not in your name also to match your passport. My advice would be to provide proof of address that is in your name. If you are already discussing this with a member of the support team via email, I would recommend keeping that conversation going as they can take a closer look after verifying your store details. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

danbee
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi,

I'm a web designer trying to help my client out with uploading the correct identity documents. They have the following message on their admin homepage:

"Due to regulatory changes in your country, you need to submit documents that verify information about your business before October 28th. You will be unable to accept payments from your customers if you do not submit the documents."

I have a two questions I'm hoping for help with:

 

1) When they go to upload there documents it asks for a utility bill:

"Upload a copy of a utilities bill that clearly shows the individual's address. Please make sure the document is a utilities bill and not the document you submitted for identity verification."

My question is – is this a personal utility bill with the store owners home address? Sounds like it is, but I wanted to double check to avoid any problems.

 

2) My second question – if they do have problems verifying the documents, what is the quickest, most direct way to get help from Shopify support? I tried a UK phone number but it's no longer operational.

Thanks

 

 

AnwerShubbar
Tourist
5 0 1
Hello Dear

The quickest way is contacting the live support chat and tell them about
the problem
Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @danbee,

Great questions! Let's take a look at them below: 


1) When they go to upload there documents it asks for a utility bill:

"Upload a copy of a utilities bill that clearly shows the individual's address. Please make sure the document is a utilities bill and not the document you submitted for identity verification."

My question is – is this a personal utility bill with the store owners home address? Sounds like it is, but I wanted to double check to avoid any problems.


Regarding which utility bill to upload, it should be a personal utility bill with the name of the representative of the ID for verification and not a business bill. 


2) My second question – if they do have problems verifying the documents, what is the quickest, most direct way to get help from Shopify support? I tried a UK phone number but it's no longer operational.


The best way to contact the support team would be via live chat or email. You can do this directly from the link here, logging in and following the steps. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Xandrea
Tourist
37 0 3

 Hi, I am from the Philippines and register my business in the UK as LTD. My problem now is I don't have a proof of address under my UK address but only an agreement. This is not a virtual address but a physical address. I can provide certifications, ID (local), proof of address with my identity (local only) and agreement that I have the right of the UK business address. But they denied it and asked utility bill instead which I don't have.

banned
Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Xandrea,

From what you've said, it seems like you would need to have a need proof of address for the Philippines and not the UK as a personal utility bill if your store has a Philippines address on registration. If you aren't able to verify, you need to move to another gateway from the Philippines and not Shopify Payments from the UK. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Xandrea
Tourist
37 0 3

I have this resolved already. Thanks

banned
ryh
New Member
6 0 0

Hi, I am wondering how you were able to solve this issue. Thanks!

ryh
New Member
6 0 0

@Nick 

Hi Nick, just a quick question.

We already have EIN, Business Registration & Banking Information under the Business Address, and wondering why the Proof of Address, such as utility bill/leasing agreement, is needed at the same time? As we support the customer service through email or messenger apps, we don't really have a local phone number or a utility bill as the building is a co-sharing office. It would be nice, is there any way this can be waived or be replaced with a different piece of information?

Thank you,

 

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @ryh,

It won't be able to waived or for different documentation to be used. In terms of why they are needed and at the same time is explained in the Shopify Payments Terms of Service here in section B.3. 

14-54-cbsw2-pkryd

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Norddin
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi quick question,

 

I’m living with my parents so the utility bills are not in my name, is there any other document that I can upload? I used an paycheck addressed to me but it wasn’t accepted.

@Nick 

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Norddin,

In some countries a bank statement can also work, but not all. Can you try using a bank statement to see if that gets accepted. 

If that doesn't work, it could be worth reaching out to our support team directly to explore this further with the relevant team. While we’re not able to provide account-specific support via the Shopify Community at this time, we’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit https://bit.ly/3cJkx8V and log in to your account to create a support request.

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Dragnes
Visitor
2 0 0

Hello Nick.

1) I live in Turkey and I have a company in the UK. I want to use Shopify payments, but proof of address is required. is there a solution to this? Can an invoice be sent to the company address?

2) Can I use "Stripe" if there is no solution?

Thanks

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Dragnes,

Good questions. Let's look and answer them below:

1.) You would need to have a significant operating presence including a permanent address in the UK for this to be possible, a forwarding addresses wouldn't be sufficient in a case like this. 

2.) This would be a question for Stripe on whether or not Stripe will support you, Shopify wouldn't have control over a decision they make. But with that said, you can enable Stripe from the admin of your store also. You can contact Stripe directly from their support here too. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Gizmr
Visitor
1 0 0

Hello @Nick 

Can you provide the list of banks of Uk whose statements can be used and is "Monzo" statement is acceptable?

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Gizmr,

 

The bank would need to be a bank based in the UK with an address there. The reason for this is to prove and verify that the business is active and within the UK. Online banks such as Monzo might not be able to verify this and thus might not be accepted. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

MAMZA120
Visitor
1 0 1

hey @Nick, Hope you are doing good? I am 20 & half I dont have utility bill on my name, but I do have internet & phone bill on my name can I submit that?

 

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @MAMZA120,

 

Yes, they should be ok to submit as a proof of address! As long as they have the same name as you have registered for your business and Shopify store. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.