Can my company open an Align account?

Who can open an account

AlignPay is a business account for registered companies. A company can be registered almost anywhere: the accounts are built for businesses that are paid from abroad, or pay suppliers and contractors in other countries. Before an account opens, Align's compliance team reviews the company, the people who own and run it, what it does and where its money comes from. Align Payments Ltd. is registered with FINTRAC in Canada as a money services business, and those checks are part of its obligations.

• Registered companies can apply directly. Partnerships can too, with documents that differ by country.
• Sole traders and freelancers who aren't incorporated should talk to the team first.
• Banks, payment and e-money institutions and money services businesses can use Align for their own payments only, not to hold or forward their customers' money. Platforms that move money for their customers use AlignConnect, where each customer is onboarded with Align directly.

Countries Align can't onboard

Align doesn't onboard companies, owners or counterparties located in, incorporated in or otherwise associated with these countries and regions, and doesn't send money to them or receive it from them:

• Afghanistan
• Belarus
• Central African Republic
• Crimea
• Cuba
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Haiti
• Iran
• Myanmar
• North Korea
• Puerto Rico
• Russia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Syria
• Ukraine
• Uzbekistan
• Venezuela
• Yemen

Align also doesn't onboard companies based in the UAE. Its AED accounts are for companies outside the UAE that are paid in dirhams or pay suppliers there. The list can change; the current list is in Align's compliance documentation.

Activities Align can't onboard

If a company, an owner, a counterparty or a payment is linked to one of these, Align declines it. In summary:

• Weapons, ammunition, explosives and military goods, and nuclear businesses
• Gambling, betting and wagering
• Adult content and sexually oriented services
• Charities and non-governmental organisations, including fundraising and donations
• Cannabis, tobacco, e-cigarettes, online pharmacies and products with unapproved health claims
• Counterfeit or pirated goods, and goods imported or exported illegally
• Pyramid and multi-level marketing schemes, and investments promising guaranteed or unusually high returns
• Collecting or forwarding money owed to third parties, and shell banks
• Any business that needs a licence where it operates and doesn't hold one

The full list of prohibited activities has every category, and Align's acceptable use policy applies to every account.

What to prepare

The review moves fastest when everything arrives at once, as full PDFs or good scans:

• Certificate of incorporation, and memorandum and articles of association or their equivalent
• A current register of shareholders and directors, and a structure chart up to the individuals at the top
• Proof of the company's registered address
• ID and proof of home address for everyone who owns or controls 25% or more
• Evidence of where the company's money comes from, and the volume you expect to move

The full checklist, with the usual reasons documents are sent back, is in Documents you need to open a business account.

Which accounts you get

Approved companies get named account details in their own name, for USD, EUR, GBP and AED, and can send and receive USDC and USDT. Which currencies your company is offered depends on its country and the review:

• USD: SWIFT details, plus a US account and routing number for ACH and wires, which are requested separately and reviewed again by Align's US banking partner. See USD accounts for non-US companies.
• EUR: a named IBAN for SEPA and SEPA Instant. See EUR IBANs for companies outside the EU.
• GBP: UK account details for Faster Payments. See GBP accounts for companies outside the UK.
• AED: for companies outside the UAE. See AED accounts for non-UAE companies.

For what it costs, see how Align's pricing works, and for how your money is held and protected, Is my money safe with Align?

A first check against Align's published rules, not an approval. Every application goes through Align's KYB review, which decides.