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What is a Customer?

A customer is the business you serve as your direct client. If your company facilitates payments on behalf of another business, that business is your customer onboarded to Conduit. Example: If you run a marketplace and help merchants receive payments, each merchant is a Customer that needs to be onboarded. Why is customer onboarding required?
  • Compliance: Conduit must verify business entities for regulatory compliance
  • Risk Management: Understanding your customers helps prevent fraud
  • Payment Processing: Only verified customers can send and receive payments

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Onboarding methods

You can onboard customers in two ways:
  1. Hosted onboarding (KYB link)
    • Generate a secure hosted link for your customer to complete KYB in the browser.
    • Best when you prefer Conduit to collect and manage KYB details on your behalf.
  2. Direct onboarding (API-first)
    • Use POST /customers with onboardingFlow: direct to create the customer programmatically
    • Provide control persons and documents programmatically, then submit for review.
    • Best when you already capture KYB data in your product and want a fully embedded flow.
For implementation details and request/response formats, see the API Reference.

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Customer onboarding process

The onboarding process consists of four main phases (applies to both methods):

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Phase 1: Registration

Register the customer’s business information and corporate details

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Phase 2: Control Person Identification

Identify key personnel who have significant control (25%+ ownership) Prepare for individual verification (KYC)

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Phase 3: Document Verification

Upload and verify required compliance documents

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Phase 4: Review & Activation

Submit for compliance review and activate the account
  • Compliance team reviews all information
  • Account is activated upon approval
Key terms:
TermDefinition
CustomerYour direct client - the business using Conduit to send/receive payments
Control PersonIndividual with 25%+ ownership or significant control (requires KYC verification)
KYBKnow Your Business - verifies the business entity with documents like articles of incorporation
KYCKnow Your Customer - verifies individual control persons with documents like passports
CounterpartyThe business or individual your customer sends money to or receives money from

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What You’ll Need

Gather the following information before beginning: Business Information:
  • Legal business name and registration date
  • Tax identification number (EIN)
  • NAICS industry code
  • Business email, phone, and website
  • Registered and operating addresses
  • Business entity type (Corporation, LLC, etc.)
Control Person Information (for individuals with 25%+ ownership):
  • Full name and date of birth
  • Email and phone number
  • Residential address
  • Social Security Number (for US persons)
  • Nationality and ownership percentage
Documents:
  • KYB Documents: Articles of incorporation, business license, or proof of address
  • KYC Documents: Passport, driver’s license, or national ID for each control person

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Onboarding flows

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Direct onboarding (API-first)

Full workflow for onboarding a customer when KYB data is collected directly through your product: Workflow for onboarding a customer via Conduit’s hosted KYB form:

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What happens in the hosted flow

  • Share a secure, time-limited link with your customer (via email or within your app).
  • The customer completes the hosted form with business details, control persons, and required documents.
  • After submission, Conduit returns liveness verification links per control person that require completion before review.
  • Conduit automatically validates submissions and updates the customer’s status in real time.
  • Track progress through your dashboard or via webhooks.
  • If the link expires or additional information is needed, generate a new link or request missing documents.

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When to use each method

  • Direct onboarding: You already collect KYB data and want a fully embedded experience
  • Hosted link: You want Conduit to gather KYB inputs and documents directly from the customer
Timeline: 1-3 business days for compliance review Customers can have one of the following statuses:
  • Active: Verified and able to send and receive payments.
  • Pending: Verification is in progress.
  • Rejected: Verification failed; cannot send or receive payments.
  • Expired: Verification has expired and must be renewed.
  • Missing Information: Required information is incomplete and needs updating.
  • Account Onboarding Pending: Verification is completed and customer is in the process of being onboarded.

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Submitting for review and liveness checks

When you submit a customer for onboarding, the submission response can include liveness verification links for each control person that must complete liveness before review proceeds.
  • Endpoint: POST /customers/{id}/submit
  • Response includes livenessLinks with a verificationUrl per control person.
Use each verificationUrl to prompt the corresponding control person to complete liveness checks as this is a mandatory step in the onboarding process.

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What’s next?

Now that you know what a customer is and how to onboard one, follow our Onboarding a Customer guide to quickly get started. Virtual accounts are automatically provisioned during onboarding (not created directly via API). Learn more in Virtual USD Accounts.

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API Reference

See the API Reference to learn how to create and manage customers using our API.

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Support

Reach out to our support team to get help and share your feedback.