KYC & KYB Policy

Why we verify

PayKato moves money on behalf of merchants through licensed payment and banking partners. Those partners are required by law to know who they are settling funds to. We collect verification information so that we, and our partners, can meet those obligations and protect buyers from fraud.

Who must complete verification

Every merchant account before its first live payment is processed.
Every beneficial owner of a registered business holding 25% or more of the entity.
The primary director or operator of the business.
Any account requesting an increase in transaction or payout limits beyond standard thresholds.

Individual KYC — required documents

Government-issued photo ID — passport, national ID card, or driver's licence.
Live selfie capture with liveness check, performed through our identity partner (Didit).
Address confirmation (utility bill, bank statement, or government letter dated within the last 3 months) on request for higher-risk profiles.
Bank account or mobile-money account in the merchant's own name for payouts.

Business KYB — required documents

Certificate of incorporation (e.g. CAC certificate in Nigeria) and current company status.
Memorandum & articles, or equivalent constitutional document, where requested.
Directors and shareholders register, or equivalent statutory filing listing beneficial owners.
Proof of registered business address.
Business bank account details for settlement.
Active website, social profile, or product listing demonstrating the goods or services sold.

Verification steps

Step 1 — Application: the merchant submits business details and selects a business type.
Step 2 — Document upload: ID, selfie, and business documents are uploaded via the secure onboarding flow.
Step 3 — Automated checks: identity, document authenticity, and sanctions / PEP / adverse-media screening run automatically.
Step 4 — Human review: the PayKato compliance team reviews edge cases, requests additional documents, and decides the application status.
Step 5 — Partner review (where applicable): the relevant payment partner performs its own merchant onboarding before live processing is enabled.

Application statuses

Pending review — application received, awaiting initial check.
More documents needed — we asked for additional documents or clarification.
Partner review — under review by a licensed payment partner.
Approved for test mode — merchant can create links and run test payments only.
Approved for live payments — full processing and payouts enabled, subject to limits.
Rejected / unsupported business — application declined, with reason where legally permitted.

Ongoing monitoring & refresh

Verification is not a one-time event. PayKato periodically re-screens merchants and beneficial owners against sanctions and PEP lists, and may request refreshed documents on a risk-based cycle — typically every 12 to 24 months, sooner if the business profile changes materially (new directors, new countries served, new product category, sudden volume change).

Grounds for rejection or off-boarding

Identity or business documents that cannot be verified or are suspected of being altered.
Sanctions, PEP, or adverse-media matches that cannot be resolved.
Business activity that falls under our prohibited businesses list.
Material misrepresentation of the business or its directors.
Patterns consistent with transaction laundering, fraud, or evasion of partner controls.

Your rights & how to appeal

If your application is declined or your account is restricted, you can request a written explanation (subject to legal restrictions) and ask for a re-review by writing to compliance@paykato.com. See the Complaint handling policy for the escalation path.

Data protection

KYC and KYB documents are stored encrypted and only shared with licensed payment, banking, and verification partners that need them to process the merchant's payments. See the Privacy policy and Data Processing Addendum for retention periods and processor details.