Receiving payments as an unregistered business

[manueljardim]

So i was setting up my online shop and when i went to set up the payments i found that i had to be a registered business to use shopify payments. Is there any way for me to receive the payments without being a registered business?

Thank you

[Trevor]

@manueljardim 

The requirements for Shopify Payments will depend on the country you're operating from. Could you tell me which country you're in so I can see if you have any alternative options? 

[manueljardim]

I'm operating from the netherlands.

[manueljardim]

@Trevor 

[Trevor]

@manueljardim 

Thank you for letting me know. To use Shopify Payments when based in the Netherlands, you will need:

• A standard bank account with a financial institution must be provided (e.g., checking). Other types of bank accounts (e.g., savings) or those with a virtual bank account provider (e.g., e-wallet or cross-border services) are not supported.
  • Bank accounts in the EU use an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) as their identifier:
    • IBANs will begin with the prefix AT BE CH DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GI IE IT LU NL NO PT SE.
    • Due to the nature of EU banking, merchants are able to use a bank account from any IBAN-supported country in the EuroZone (beginning with any of the above prefixes) when setting up Shopify Payments Netherlands, as long as the currency is in EURO.
• Personal number | BSN: more info (mandatory for all business types)
• Business number | KVK: 8 digit number from the Chamber of Commerce more info (mandatory) This blog post also includes a how-to guide for KVK registration.
• VAT Number | 14 characters total Example VAT NL123456789B23 (NL/9 digits/B/2digits)
  • It's possible to sign up without entering a VAT number (see screenshot).

[manueljardim]

@Trevor  That's the thing, the business isn't registered, so i don't have a kvk or anything. Is there no other way to receive the payments from the website. And what would the rules be if i were in Belgium?

[Trevor]

@manueljardim 

The KVK will be required and can not be bypassed if you wish to use Shopify Payments. A KVK may not be required to use another payment provider for the Netherlands; however, I can not speak to the requirements for individual payment providers. You will want to reach out to the other payment providers to determine if you can use their services without having a KVK. If you opt to use a third-party payment provider, then your store would see a transaction fee that ranges between 0.5%-2% per order (based on your plan). You can view a full list of payment providers for the Netherlands here. 

You could also consider registering your business to obtain a KVK - Further resources on this are provided in my previous reply. 

For Shopify Payments Belgium, we would require: 

• Name, date of birth, and address for all owners
• Personal ID
• Personal tax identification number (TIN): Numéro National (NN)
  • Format: eleven digits 99999999999 without any decimal, slashes, hyphens, or spaces
• Company tax ID: Business TINs are issued following registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE).
  • “business number-numéro d’entreprise - Belgische ondernemingsnumme”
  • Format: ten digits, starting with either 0 or 1
    • 0999999999
    • 1999999999
• VAT (optional when signing up for Shopify Payments): referred to as BTW identificatienummer/Numéro de TVA (BTW/TVA)
  • Format: BE0999999999
• During set up: Corporate entities must provide the business number, while individuals can provide their Numero National

Bank account requirements are the same for Belgium as they are in the Netherlands. 

[Aghd]

What abour Sweeden ? 

[Jithen_g]

Hi Team @Trevor,

Could you also confirm why the BSN information is required while setting up the Shopify Payments in Netherlands ?

We do not see any proper documentation on Shopify why this info is required.

[Trevor]

@Jithen_g 

Shopify needs to collect BSN/TINS as it is legally required to do so within the Netherlands for tax purposes. 

[Jithen_g]

Hi @Trevor 
Thanks for the quick response.

Could you also share if there is any documentation to support this ? I went through the Shopify Payment help doc and see few details required explicitly for Netherlands but it doesn't say BSN / TINS. 

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/shopify-payments/shopify-payments-requirements#personal-...

[Trevor]

@Jithen_g 

We do not have specific documentation we can provide that outlines the requirement to collect BSN/TIN for the Netherlands. That said, the document you linked provides a generalized reason as to why the information is required as each region is different in its requirements. 

Most governments require the collection of the BSN/TIN for reporting incoming. However; these documents are also required in order to verify your identity and your business. 

Providing your BSN/TIN is mandatory and not something that can be bypassed if you wish to use Shopify Payments. 

[Jithen_g]

Thanks @Trevor 

[lynyang]

Hi Trevor, I have set up a shop on shopify and received notification to submit my business registration doc before i can proceed to receive payment via shopify payment. I am located in Singapore. Is business registration mandatory? I have submitted my personal identification doc. Are there any alternatives?