Understand onboarding requirements

When you onboard a connected account, Airwallex requires your customer to pass one or more compliance verification stages before they can use your platform's capabilities. Understanding the purpose of each stage and when it applies helps you design an onboarding flow that meets regulatory requirements without adding unnecessary friction.

Onboarding verification

Onboarding verification is the process by which Airwallex verifies the identity of a connected account holder. It is required for all connected accounts, regardless of the capabilities they will use.

Onboarding verification is a mandatory compliance process that confirms the account holder exists, that their identity documents are valid, and that they are not subject to sanctions or anti-money laundering (AML) flags.

Onboarding verification supports four integration methods:

• Embedded component — A pre-built UI component hosted by Airwallex and embedded directly in your platform.
• Hosted flow — A redirect to an Airwallex-hosted full-page flow that handles identity collection end-to-end.
• Native API — A fully custom onboarding UI built on top of Airwallex APIs, giving you complete control over the experience.
• Web app — Direct management through the Airwallex web app , with no custom integration required.

Payment activation verification

Payment activation verification is a mandatory compliance process that verifies the identity and legitimacy of a business connected account. It applies only when your connected account will act as Merchant of Record — that is, when they will accept payments through the Airwallex payment gateway.

Payment activation verification confirms the business's legal registration, the identity of its beneficial owners, and the legitimacy of its business activities. Because it applies to the business rather than the account holder, it is a separate and additional step that follows onboarding verification: a connected account must complete onboarding verification before payment activation verification can begin.

Whether payment activation verification is required depends on your payments gateway model. If your connected accounts are not acting as merchant of record, this stage does not apply.

Payment activation verification supports the same four integration methods as onboarding verification: embedded component, hosted flow, native API, and web app.

Integration methods

Both verification types support the same four integration methods, each representing a different trade-off between development effort and customization.

The methods are not mutually exclusive, but Airwallex recommends building a unified onboarding experience.

Deferred identity verification

By default, connected accounts must complete identity verification as part of onboarding before full capabilities are activated. In some approved programs, Airwallex supports deferred identity verification for the native API integration method: the platform can create and activate a connected account subject to transaction amount thresholds before full identity checks are completed. When those thresholds are reached or additional checks are required, Airwallex issues a request for information (RFI) to collect the necessary identity data.

Deferred identity verification is only available for selected platforms and markets with risk and compliance approval. Contact your Airwallex Account Manager to confirm whether it is supported for your program and region.

See also

To deepen your understanding or see how this concept applies in practice, refer to:

• Onboarding verification
• Payment activation verification
• Deferred identity verification
• Onboard multiple connected accounts