Hey @Hamilton1,
The short answer is yes you can! When you set up Shopify Payments, you need to enter your tax details. All businesses need to submit a tax ID. If you are a sole proprietor and don't have a tax ID, then you can submit your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or your Social Security Number (SSN) instead.
If you are a US citizen then you would need to provide your SSN. The reason an individual tax ID number is important is that an individual person's details are required for every Shopify Payments account, even if you have a registered business with an EIN for example. This elected person will act as the Shopify Payments account representative and their details will be stored in addition to any business details. There are generally no exceptions to this rule because Shopify has to adhere to strict compliance and underwriting practices. I invite you to take a look at the Shopify Payments Terms of Service document for more information, and in particular section B-3 which outlines the type of verification we can request.
Just so you are fully aware, the full list of requirements for using Shopify Payments USA are as follows: (please do not attach any of these documents here).
- A government issued photo ID (driver's license, passport, etc). We may be able to accept non-US ID.
- A Tax ID in the United States: EIN if you're registered with the IRS as a business, SSN if you're registered with the IRS as an individual/sole proprietor.
- State level business registration document.
- Proof of your physical presence in the US. For example our review team may ask for things like a lease/rental agreement, or proof of orders being shipped from the US etc.
- A USD checking account, opened with a real US banking institution, located on US soil. Virtual banks, currency services or other specialty accounts will not work for this, it has to be a standard US bank.
Keep in mind that being able to provide these documents does not automatically qualify you to use Shopify Payments US. This is simply the initial step in the review process. Once you've submitted the required documents, our review team would then reach out to you with more information.
If you haven't already, the best way to get to know our platform is to sign up to our free trial, which you can do so via this link. You'll be able to see first hand of what the Shopify platform offers, and you can even start to build your online store too! Check out this guide if you need a step-by-step tutorial to follow along.
Let me know if I can clarify anything further,
Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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