Lithic Due Diligence

At Lithic, we're committed to helping you launch your program successfully and securely. Our onboarding process ensures that regulatory requirements are met.

We understand that navigating compliance can be complex, which is why we've designed our process to be as straightforward as possible.

The onboarding process typically takes a week, depending on the complexity of your program and how quickly documentation is provided. Our team will guide you through each step, ensuring you have everything needed for a smooth launch. We're here to support you throughout this journey.

Program Type

The requirements vary based on who is taking on program management responsibilities between you and Lithic:

Processor Only — you act as the program manager and bring your own sponsor bank. Lithic processes transactions while you control most program operations.
Lithic as Program Manager — Lithic manages key relationships (such as the sponsor bank) and many program operations. This track has additional documentation and a risk assessment.

Publicly traded companies listed on a U.S. stock exchange follow a reduced set of requirements, noted in the relevant sections below.

Process Overview

Our onboarding process consists of the following components:

Know Your Business (KYB) Due Diligence
Control Person, Authorized Signer, and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) Screening
Risk Assessment (where Lithic is Program Manager)

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Note
We request supporting documentation when we're unable to verify information through our identity verification provider. For KYB, the information is: business name, Tax ID (EIN), Secretary of State (SOS) registration, and address. The same applies to Know Your Customer (KYC), where the information is: name, date of birth, address, and SSN/ITIN.

Know Your Business (KYB) Due Diligence

This process helps us verify your business identity and understand your operations. KYB is essential for preventing money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Required Documentation for KYB

Processor Only clients

Create a Lithic account and provide the following:

Legal name
DBA (doing business as)
Tax ID
Country
Physical address (PO Box, CMRA, virtual, or registered agent service addresses are not acceptable)
Website
Employee count (optional)
Intended use case
High-risk disclosure — whether your program involves crypto, cannabis/CBD, or gambling

Publicly traded companies

For companies listed on a U.S. stock exchange, business information may be sourced from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings or your official Investor Relations page. Physical address and country are not required, as these are available through public disclosures, and incorporation documents are not required.

Legal name
DBA (doing business as)
Tax ID
Website
Employee count (optional)
Intended use case
High-risk disclosure — whether your program involves crypto, cannabis/CBD, or gambling

Control Person, Authorized Signer, and UBO Screening

We're required by law to identify and verify the individuals who control or represent your business. The specific requirements depend on your program type.

Processor Only clients — Control Person

A Control Person is an individual with significant control over the company and its business decisions (e.g., CEO, CFO, general partner, president, or treasurer). The Control Person must provide:

Legal first and last name
Title
Phone number
Email address
Country of residence

Publicly traded companies — Authorized Signer

Publicly traded companies do not have a Control Person in the traditional sense. Instead, an Authorized Signer — a verified representative with authority to act on the company's behalf — is required:

Legal first and last name
Title
Phone number
Email address
Country of residence

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Note
UBO collection is not required for publicly traded companies listed on a U.S. stock exchange, consistent with the FinCEN UBO exemption for entities registered with the SEC. All standard due diligence screening — including adverse news, watchlist, and OFAC checks — remains required for both the business and its Authorized Signer.

Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) — when Lithic is Program Manager

When Lithic is your program manager, we identify and verify:

All Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) — every individual who owns 25% or more of your company, including indirect owners (i.e., a 50% owner of a 50% owner of the business). See FinCEN requirements (Section I) for more background on individuals that should be included.
Control Person — someone who can exercise significant control over the business (e.g., CEO, CFO, general partner, president, or treasurer).

Each UBO and Control Person must provide:

Legal first and last name
Date of birth
Social Security number/ITIN
Phone number
Company email address
Residential address (PO Box, CMRA, virtual, or registered agent service addresses are not acceptable)
Ownership percentage (for UBOs)
Passport (for non-US individuals)

Risk Assessment

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Note
This section is relevant only if Lithic is acting as the program manager.

Our Risk team conducts a thorough evaluation to understand your business's financial health and risk management capabilities. This helps us determine appropriate risk controls and reserve requirements.
The risk assessment includes two components:

1. Financial Health Assessment (Underwriting)

We'll review your financial documentation to assess your company's stability. We need 12 months of the following documents:

Balance Sheet
Profit & Loss Statement
Statement of Cash Flows

2. Risk Review (Risk Rating & Reserve)

This will include a live conversation with our Risk team to discuss:

Volume projections (broken out by card vs ACH payment rail, if applicable)
Your risk management systems and processes
Appropriate reserve levels for your program
Any organizational information relevant to support risk management

Contact Information

Questions about the onboarding process? Our team is here to help every step of the way. Reach out to your Lithic representative or contact our support team for assistance.