Mews Know Your Business (KYB) FAQs

This article contains answers to frequently asked questions about the Mews KYB process.

In this article, you can find answers to the following frequently asked questions:


 

Q: Why do you need all of these documents? My previous PMS provider did not ask for them. 

Mews is obliged to collect these documents because our product is more than a property management system. It also includes a payment solution, i.e., Mews Payments.  As you probably know, banks and other financial service providers are required by law to collect information about their customers and the ownership and control of those customers if the customer is a company. Since Mews is providing you with Mews Payments through our partnerships with payment service providers, Mews is in scope of these requirements.  

 

For this reason, all our customers are subject to a “Know Your Business" or KYB check. These checks are based on industry best practice and make sure that Mews is in compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. If you recently opened a bank account for yourself or for your company, you would find that these KYB checks are similar to those you went through with your bank, and that the information and documents Mews is asking from you are likely readily available to you.  

 

When you signed your Agreement with Mews you acknowledged and agreed to provide this information to Mews, to provide you with  Mews products and services.  

 

For more information on the relevant AML regulations please visit the EU Commission website. 

 

You can learn more in the Mews Merchant terms, Master Terms and Conditions: Clause 15.7 and 15.8 and Merchant terms: Section 6 KYB. 

 

Q: How do I submit my KYB information and documents?

Once you sign the agreement with Mews, Mews sends a link to the individual or organization where you can complete identity checks and confirm information. You receive access to this link once you sign your agreement with Mews.  

  

If you have not received your link, you can get information in this troubleshooting help article.  

 

Mews aligns with standard requirements across the financial services industry and in particular with the payment service providers Mews uses to deliver Mews Payments.  

 

Mews conducts KYB checks on:  

  • The legal entity featured in the agreement.   
  • The company representative that signed the Agreement   
  • All beneficial owners or BOs that own 25% or more of the company’s shares or voting rights, and/or  
  • Person(s) who exercise significant control over the company.  

 Typically, Mews collects the below information and documents, though we may sometimes ask for clarification or for more information:   

  • Legal entity information and documents: Business register extract and company bank statement  
  • Company representative and beneficial owners' information and documents: Identification documents and usually also a proof of residential address such as a utility bill or a personal bank statement  

  

These requirements are described in the following regional published guidelines which may differ slightly from country to country.:

 

Mews makes the document collection as easy for our customers as possible. Mews sends a link to the individual or organization where you can complete identity checks and confirm information. Mews provides guidance on document submission to ensure they meet the required standards.  

 

Please be aware that the KYB process is a legal requirement. Even though the requirements are not usually challenging, they are very precise. If the regional guidelines or the guidance asks for a color version of your identity document, make sure you do provide a color version. If you do not, then this causes a delay in getting you up and running with Mews. If you need assistance, you can contact the Mews KYB Support team via [email protected]. 

 

Q: Who can complete the KYB process?     
The authorized company representative who signed the agreement with Mews or the KYB point of contact nominated by the company representative within the agreement can complete the KYB process or later on by email to [email protected]. The KYB process can be completed with no KYB information or documents required from the KYB point of contact.

 

 After the checks are complete, Mews securely stores all customer information for the duration of your relationship with Mews and for a period of five years afterwards in according with data processing, data retention, data sharing and data security requirements. For more information you can refer to our privacy policy here.    

  

 For you to use Mews Payments, Mews needs to share the KYB information and documents with our payment partners Stripe and Adyen, who are required by law to collect them. This information is processed securely through Trulioo. You can contact this provider for more details. You can also view more information in the Master Terms and Conditions 15.10 and Merchant terms section 6 KYB. 

  

 A BO is:   

  • a person that directly or indirectly owns a business and/ or  
  • benefits financially from it and/or   
  • exercises significant control over its day-to-day activities.   

 Mews is obliged to identify any beneficial owner(s) who own at least 25% of a company’s shares or voting rights.  

 

If there is no beneficial owner exceeding 25% ownership of shares or voting rights, you need to list all individuals (at least 1) who exercise significant control over your company. Individuals considered to “exercise significant control” over your company are those responsible for managing and directing the business and may include executive officers or senior managers, such as CEO, CFO, Managing Member, General Partner, President, Vice President, or Treasurer.  

 

Q: Are there any exceptions in terms of beneficial owner identification? Is it always necessary?   
 Yes, there are exceptions. If your company’s shares are traded on a regulated stock exchange, or if your company is a government body/ state-owned entity within the European Economic Area, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan, or Singapore, then you may be exempted from beneficial owner identification.    
 

Q: Is your company owned by another company and not a physical person? 
Beneficial ownership may arise also through indirect ownership, for example where there are one or more companies between the beneficial, natural owner and the relevant entity.  So if a holding company owns your company, then the owner of the holding company is the UBO of your organization. You can see below how such ownership may look like and how you determine the UBO. 

 

Q: Our beneficial owner/ company representative does not want to provide their personal confidential information, for example, passport or identity card, proof of address. Can we provide the information of another representative for the company? 
If a beneficial owner or company representative can’t or won’t provide their personal information or documents to Mews, this unfortunately means that Mews cannot offer you Mews products and services. This is because if Mews cannot collect this information from you then we cannot meet our obligations to our payment services partners as required by laws and regulations.   

 

Please be aware that the documents and information you need to provide as part of the KYB process should be related to the legal entity and not the property entered into agreement with Mews. So even if your property is newly acquired or still being built, it’s likely that the legal entity which owns or manages it is possibly already established.  Sometimes of course things don’t go to plan, and if you won’t yet have all the documents ready then you can contact the Mews KYB Support team via [email protected] or using the KYB Support Form available in the portal.   

 

Q: How long does the KYB/  AML process take? 

Mews aims to complete the KYB check within 5 business days, if all the documents and information you provide are in line with the guidance provided on Mews standards.  Sometimes, if there is a need for clarification or for more information it may take longer.  

 

In cases where the documents or information provided did not meet the standards explained in the guidelines, then we will contact you to resubmit some of your information. This will result in a delay in completion of your KYB check and in your readiness for going live with Mews.  

  

To provide you with the best service possible it is important that you follow the guidelines in the KYB Portal and emails you receive from us closely to avoid delays.  

 

Q: I am signing up with Mews as a business, not as an individual. Why do you require my personal information such as ID and proof of address?  
Mews is bound by law to identify and collect personal information of some of the individuals connected to the legal entity that sign the agreement with Mews. Please refer here (Question 1) for more detail on Mews’ obligations.     

 

Q: My national identity card shows my personal address. Can it be used both as an ID document and a proof of address? 

The goal of KYB checks is to verify that Mews knows who we are doing business with, so you need to provide more than one form of identity proof. This is standard industry practice.    

  

A list of accepted document types for both Stripe and Adyen is available, and the document requirements may vary country by country to align with local laws and regulations.   

  

You can find the list of accepted identity and address documents for your jurisdiction below:

Q: Can I receive payouts to a bank account that is held in the name of a different legal entity than the legal entity that signed the contract with Mews? 

As a general rule, Mews can only send payouts to a bank account that is held in the name of the legal entity that signed the contract with Mews. Mews requires a bank account statement to verify the name of the legal entity. However, in some cases the system can send payouts to a bank account held in the name of a different legal entity, for example, in parent-child company setups, franchisor-franchisee setups or management contracts. In this case, Mews requires a certified bank letter showing that the legal entity that signed the contract with Mews is authorized to manage and operate the bank account where the system sends the payouts. You can discuss your specific case with your sales representative.


You can learn about KYB portal access troubleshooting here.

 

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