Verify

Right now, we support applications from customers that are UK limited companies, sole traders, or individuals. They must also be either incorporated in the UK or resident in the UK.

The eligibility criteria we apply to our direct customers also applies to any end users of our products. For a full list of business types and industries we do not support, see our [eligibility page](https://griffin.com/eligibility).

Verify is an automated onboarding solution that lets you run a full range of Know Your Customer/Business (KYC/KYB) via a single API integration. This includes ID&V, anti-money laundering, and anti-fraud checks and screening.

 Verify is pre-integrated with industry-leading data providers, so you can be sure you're running verification and screening checks against reliable sources.

 You can choose one of two approaches for using Verify:

- **Preset workflows (recommended)**. Our pre-configured, pre-approved onboarding workflows are designed specifically to be used with our banking products.
- **Custom workflows**. Create your own workflows to meet the requirements of another banking partner.

Whichever approach you choose, Verify provides a detailed breakdown of all check results in plain language, so manual reviews are clear and straightforward and your team can quickly make an informed decision.

If you're interested in purchasing Verify, check out the [product page](https://griffin.com/products/verify).

What is Verify?

### For business customers

<ul>
<li>Business lookup and verification</li>
<li>Directors and people with significant control:</li>
<ul>
<li>Identity document verification</li>
<li>Biometric verification</li>
<li>Sanctions screening</li>
<li>Politically exposed person (PEP) screenings</li>
<li>Adverse media screening</li>
<li>Fraud checks</li>
</ul>
</ul>

### Individuals and sole traders
* Identity document verification
* Address verification
* Biometric verification
* Sanctions screening
* PEP screening
* Fraud checks

What KYC/KYB checks does Verify support?

Verify can help you:

* **speed up customer onboarding** without compromising on your compliance and risk management requirements. 
* **shrink your manual review queue** with automated decision-making, freeing up your team to focus investigating on edge cases.
* **improve your customers’ experience** with a quick, simple, unified onboarding process.

Features include:

<ul>
<li>Preset workflows. Reduce configuration time with our preset workflows, which include all the checks you need to get going with Griffin's banking products.</li>
<li>Automated decisions. Instantly categorise decisions into one of three statuses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Accepted</li>
<li>Declined</li>
<li>Referred (to an investigator for review)</li>
</ul>
<li>Simplified manual reviews. Get clear and detailed results for every check on every customer.</li>
<li>Comprehensive audit trail. Our platform acts as a single source of truth where you can access a complete record of all check results and decisions.</li>
</ul>

What are Verify's features and benefits?

You can get access to our Banking as a Service products without using Verify, but the onboarding process will be a bit slower and there will be some upfront costs. This is because we’ll need to do an enhanced review of your financial crime prevention controls to be sure that your customers and their activities fall within our risk appetite.

 When you onboard your customers via Verify, we get direct visibility on the risk profile of each of your customers through our own system. We know that they've been screened and verified against industry-leading data sources in compliance with regulatory requirements and we can be confident that any customers you accept through Verify also fall within our own risk appetite.

But if you choose not to use Verify, we don't have direct visibility on your customers. This means we have to assure ourselves that your own financial crime prevention controls are at least as strong as our own before we can handle your customers’ money. This involves doing an enhanced review of your financial crime risk management framework, which is the process currently used by most incumbent banks. We’ll need to rerun this review on an at least annual basis and you may need to provide us with a data file via API so we can monitor your customers’ activity.

Unfortunately, the necessity of running an enhanced review of your financial crime prevention framework means we won’t be able to get you up and running as fast as we’d like. We will also need to charge an onboarding fee upfront to cover our costs.

If you're interested in Banking as as Service but already have an onboarding solution in place, please drop us a line at product@griffin.com so we can discuss your requirements in more detail.

Can I get Banking as a Service without Verify?

[Veriff](https://www.veriff.com/) is an industry-leading identity verification platform. Veriff’s technology is integrated with our onboarding workflows and performs automated identity and verification checks (ID&V) on your customers.

These ID&V checks are done on individuals, sole traders and where your customer is a business, Veriff is used to verify the identities of the company directors and people with significant control (PSCs).

Veriff typically returns a decision in under a minute.

Who is Veriff?

Verify is available as a standalone product for companies who do not wish to use our banking services. 

For more information on pricing, check out the [product page](https://griffin.com/products/verify). 

To talk to a member of our sales team, [contact us](https://griffin.com/contact/sales). 

To try to the product for yourself in sandbox, [sign up for an account](https://app.griffin.com/register).

Can I buy Verify as a standalone product?

Our end-to-end onboarding solution, [Verify](https://griffin.com/products/verify), integrates with several industry-leading data sources, including [Companies House](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house).

Companies House is the central registrar for all incorporated companies in the UK, and maintains a public database of company information.

When your customer is a UK company, you can use their company number to pull in information about their business and identify directors and people with significant control (PSCs).

Information not found on Companies House (such as dates of birth, emails and personal addresses of directors and PSCs) will still need to be added as part of the onboarding process.

For a full list of data that our Companies House integration can populate, take a look at our [Companies House API](https://docs.griffin.com/api#tag/Companies-House).

How does the Companies House integration work?

Verify includes identity and verification checks (ID&V) on your individual customers, and on directors and people with significant controls (PSCs) if your customer is a company.

We need a valid identity document to complete these checks. We currently accept the following documents:

- Passport
- ID card
- Driver’s license
- Resident permit

Note that the type of document we can accept may vary depending on the country that issued it. The document must not be expired, damaged, or illegible.

If you have any questions, contact [support@griffin.com.](mailto:support@griffin.com)

What identity documents does Verify accept?

When you are onboarding a company, you will also need to verify directors and any people with significant control (PSCs). If a director is also a PSC, you do not need to verify them twice.

If you are using the Griffin app to onboard your customer, you have the option to specify that a PSC is also a director, so you don't have to enter the same information twice.

If you are using our API, you should create one legal person to represent the director/PSC. This will provide you with a legal person URL, which can be used for both the director claim and the PSC claim. For more detail, read our guides on [onboarding customers](https://docs.griffin.com/docs/tags/onboarding).

If a director is also a person with significant control for the same company, do I need to verify them twice?

The information you need to capture will be different depending on the type of customer you want to onboard. We currently support onboarding for UK limited companies, individuals and sole traders.

The lists below show the information required for each customer type. Please note that if you are not using our default workflows, additional information may be required.

For more information, check out our guides for [onboarding your customers](https://docs.griffin.com/docs/tags/onboarding).

### UK limited companies 
You will need the company's unique 8-digit company number. This will be used to pull information from Companies House and identify directors and people with significant control (PSCs). 

Information pulled from Companies House: 

- Company name 
- Company address
- Corporation type 
- Company status 
- Company incorporation date 
- Date of latest accounts 
- Date of latest confirmation status 
- SIC codes
- Directors' identities
- PSCs' identities

If you are using our Griffin app to onboard your customers, the above information pulled from Companies House will be automatically populated.

You will also need to supply the following information about the company: 

- Company phone number
- Business description
- Website
- Email address
- Trading address (if different from registered address)
- Tax residency
- List of non-UK countries where they operate (leave empty if not applicable).
- List of non-UK countries their accounts will send and receive payments from (leave empty if not applicable).
- Estimated annual turnover
- Initial deposit source
- Source(s) of funds
- Purpose(s) of account
- Cash payments (i.e. will the account receive payments from accounts that are funded, in full or in part, by cash deposits)
- Tax identification number
- SIC codes

You will also need to provide the following information on directors and people with significant control (PSCs):

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Residential address
- Tax residency
- Nationality
- Email address
- Phone number

For PSCs, you will also need to provide their ownership percentage.

### Individuals 

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Residential address
- Nationality
- Email address
- Phone number
- Employment status
- If employed, occupation and industry
- Tax residency
- Income
- Purpose(s) of account
- Source(s) of funds
- Initial deposit
- International payments countries (leave empty if not applicable)
- Cash payments (i.e. will the account receive payments from accounts that are funded, in full or in part, by cash deposits)

### Sole traders

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Email address
- Mobile number
- Nationality
- Tax residency
- Industry
- Residential address
- Business name (leave empty if not applicable)
- Business owner
- Business telephone number
- Business email address
- Business website
- Business address
- Business start date
- Description of business
- Does business trade under another name?
- Does business trade under another address?
- Estimated annual turnover
- Tax Identification Number (optional if turnover is under £90k)
- List of non-UK countries where they operate (leave empty if not applicable)
- Purpose(s) of the account
- Source(s) of funds
- Initial deposit
- VAT registration
- List of non-UK countries where their accounts will receive payments from (leave empty if not applicable)
- Cash payments (i.e. will the account receive payments from accounts that are funded, in full or in part, by cash deposits)

What information do I need to collect to onboard my customers via Verify?

The information you need to capture will be different depending on whether the letting agent you are onboarding is a limited company or a sole trader. 

The lists below show the information required for each customer type. (This assumes you are using the LTD Company Property workflow or Sole Trader Property workflow.)

For more information, check out our guides for [onboarding your customers](https://docs.griffin.com/docs/tags/onboarding).

### Limited company letting agents

You will need the company's unique 8-digit company number. This will be used to pull information from Companies House and identify directors and people with significant control (PSCs). 

Information pulled from Companies House: 

- Company name 
- Company address
- Corporation type 
- Company status 
- Company incorporation date 
- Date of latest accounts 
- Date of latest confirmation status 
- SIC codes
- Directors' identities
- PSCs' identities

If you are using our Griffin app to onboard your customers, the above information pulled from Companies House will be automatically populated.

You will also need to supply the following information about the company: 

- Company phone number
- Business description
- Website
- Email address
- Trading address (if different from registered address)
- Tax residency
- List of non-UK countries where they operate (leave empty if not applicable).
- List of non-UK countries their accounts will send and receive payments from (leave empty if not applicable).
- Estimated annual turnover
- Initial deposit source
- Source(s) of funds
- Purpose(s) of account
- Cash payments (i.e. will the account receive payments from accounts that are funded, in full or in part, by cash deposits)
- Tax identification number
- SIC codes
- Number of properties under management
- % of commercial properties managed
- Origins of deposits
- HMO verification
- HMRC registration status and number
- CMP registration status and scheme name/authority

You will also need to provide the following information on directors and PSCs:

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Residential address
- Tax residency
- Nationality
- Email address
- Phone number

For PSCs, you will also need to provide their ownership percentage.

### Sole trader letting agents

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Email address
- Mobile number
- Nationality
- Tax residency
- Industry
- Residential address
- Business name (leave empty if not applicable)
- Business owner
- Business telephone number
- Business email address
- Business website
- Business address
- Business start date
- Description of business
- Does business trade under another name?
- Does business trade under another address?
- Estimated annual turnover
- Tax Identification Number (optional if turnover is under £90k)
- List of non-UK countries where they operate (leave empty if not applicable)
- Purpose(s) of the account
- Source(s) of funds
- Initial deposit
- VAT registration
- List of non-UK countries where their accounts will receive payments from (leave empty if not applicable)
- Cash payments (i.e. will the account receive payments from accounts that are funded, in full or in part, by cash deposits)
- Number of properties under management
- % of commercial properties managed
- Origins of deposits
- HMO verification
- HMRC registration status and number
- CMP registration status and scheme name/authority

What information do I need to collect to onboard letting agents via Verify?

The information you need to capture will be different depending on whether the landlord you are onboarding is a limited company or an individual. 

The lists below show the information required for each customer type. (This assumes you are using the LTD Company Landlord workflow or Individual Landlord workflow.)

For more information, check out our guides for [onboarding your customers](https://docs.griffin.com/docs/tags/onboarding).

### Limited company landlords

You will need the company's unique 8-digit company number. This will be used to pull information from Companies House and identify directors and people with significant control (PSCs). 

Information pulled from Companies House: 

- Company name 
- Company address
- Corporation type 
- Company status 
- Company incorporation date 
- Date of latest accounts 
- Date of latest confirmation status 
- SIC codes
- Directors' identities
- PSCs' identities

If you are using our Griffin app to onboard your customers, the above information pulled from Companies House will be automatically populated.

You will also need to supply the following information about the company: 

- Company phone number
- Business description
- Website
- Email address
- Trading address (if different from registered address)
- Tax residency
- List of non-UK countries where they operate (leave empty if not applicable).
- List of non-UK countries their accounts will send and receive payments from (leave empty if not applicable).
- Estimated annual turnover
- Initial deposit source
- Source(s) of funds
- Purpose(s) of account
- Cash payments (i.e. will the account receive payments from accounts that are funded, in full or in part, by cash deposits)
- Tax identification number
- SIC codes
- Number of properties owned
- Origins of deposits
- HMO verification
- HMRC registration status and number
- Whether properties are residential, commercial, holiday lets or HMO
- If they own commercial properties, what industries

You will also need to provide the following information on directors and PSCs:

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Residential address
- Tax residency
- Nationality
- Email address
- Phone number

For PSCs, you will also need to provide their ownership percentage.

### Individual landlords

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Residential address
- Nationality
- Email address
- Phone number
- Employment status
- If employed, occupation and industry
- Tax residency
- Income
- Purpose(s) of account
- Source(s) of funds
- Initial deposit
- International payments countries (leave empty if not applicable)
- Number of properties owned
- Origins of deposits
- HMO verification
- Whether properties are residential, commercial, holiday lets or HMO
- If they own commercial properties, what industries



What information do I need to collect to onboard landlords using Verify?

You can onboard customers located in the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man) via Verify and Reliance onboarding.

Using Reliance onboarding, we can accept applications from limited companies, sole traders and individuals located in the Crown Dependencies.

Using Verify, we can accept applications from sole traders and individuals in the Crown Dependencies.



Can I onboard customers from the Crown Dependencies?

We currently don't support onboarding of limited companies based in the Crown Dependencies via Verify: you will need to use Reliance onboarding instead. However, you can onboard directors and people with significant control (PSCs) located in the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man) as long as their company is based in the UK.



Can I onboard a limited company located in Crown Dependencies via Verify?

What is our eligibility criteria for your customers?

Learn more about Griffin, our regulatory status, and the types of customers we support.

About Griffin

Learn more about Verify, our automated KYC/KYB onboarding solution for fintechs.

Our sandbox is available to everyone, free forever, and can be used to trial our products and build test integrations.

Sandbox

Learn more about the different types of bank account we offer.

Bank accounts

Operational accounts

Primary account

Easy access savings accounts

Bare trust savings

Pooled account membership

Learn more about how interest and commission work at Griffin, when you can expect to be paid, and how we manage rate changes.

Interest and commission

Interest

Commission

Find out more about our fees and charges, how to access your payment history, and more.

Billing

Get help with setting up security features, managing your organization, and integrating with third parties.

Griffin app

Two-factor authentication (2FA)

Managing your organization

Open banking

Find out what payment types we support, our payment limits, and Confirmation of Payee.

Frequently asked questions

What is our eligibility criteria for your customers?

More in Verify

All FAQ collections