Hong Kong SAR merchant onboarding guide

Before using Genstore Payments in the Hong Kong SAR, you need to understand the required personal and business information, as well as supporting documents. These requirements ensure compliance with local regulations and help prevent financial crimes.

This guide will help you:

1. Identify your business entity type
2. Understand the documents required for each entity type
3. Ensure your bank account and Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) information meets the requirements

Entity types

Depending on local laws and regulations, you must provide information about yourself and your business. This allows Genstore (hereafter “we”) to verify your store’s identity, confirm the beneficial owners of the company, and comply with anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), and other financial crime prevention rules. As regulations evolve, Genstore and our partners may request additional information.

In Hong Kong SAR, you can register for Genstore Payments under the following entity types:

Type	Sole Proprietorship	Private Limited Company (Ltd) / Unlimited Company	Partnership
Legal status	Not a separate legal entity; owner and business are the same	Separate legal entity; company is distinct from shareholders/directors	Not a separate legal entity; partners share responsibility
Liability	Unlimited liability of owner	Limited liability of shareholders (up to investment); directors have statutory duties	General partners: unlimited liability; limited partners: liability limited to contribution
Taxation	Reported under personal income tax (IR56B / Profits Tax Return)	Corporate Profits Tax Return (BIR51/52/54) + Annual Return (NAR1/AR1)	Partnership Profits Tax Return (BIR52); profit/loss allocated to partners’ personal tax returns
Name examples	- Chan Tai Man – DBA: Chan’s Café	- TechVision (HK) Limited - Bright Future Unlimited Company	- Chan & Lee Partnership
Key identifiers (HK)	- Business Registration (BR) - Bank account name = owner’s name	- Certificate of Incorporation (CI), BR, Memorandum & Articles (M&A) - Bank account name = registered legal name	- BR- Partnership Agreement - Bank account name = partnership name

Tip: Confirm your entity type first, then prepare the corresponding documents to ensure a smooth Genstore Payments onboarding.

Common requirements

Minimum age

• Users must be at least 18 years old to use Genstore Payments, ensuring legal capacity to sign contracts and manage transactions.

Bank account

• The account must be opened in Hong Kong and be a full HKD checking account.
• The account name must match the registered entity:
  • Sole proprietorship → bank account name = owner’s name
  • Company/Partnership → bank account name = registered legal name
• The account must be eligible for local automated clearing.

Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs)

Object	Standard	Number required
UBOs through ownership	Individuals who directly or indirectly own 25% or more of shares, voting rights, or other equity.	0–4 people. Genstore requires information for all individuals who meet the criteria.
UBOs through control	Individuals who exercise ultimate effective control. If none can be identified, a member of senior management must be listed.	At least 1 person (if no ownership UBO exists, or if operating in Hong Kong).
Signatories	Legal representatives or authorized signatories who can enter binding agreements with Genstore on behalf of the entity.	At least 1 person.

Required documents by entity type

Confirm your entity type before preparing documents to ensure successful onboarding.

Sole proprietorship

• Business documents:
  • Business Registration (BR)
  • Tax documents (Profits Tax Return, BIR52)
  • DBA registration (if applicable)
• Personal documents:
  • HKID or passport
  • Proof of residential address
  • Tax identification number
• Bank documents:
  • Bank statement
  • Bank reference letter
  • Cheque

If Genstore cannot verify automatically, additional documents such as constitutional records or recent tax returns may be requested.

Companies (Private Limited / Unlimited)

• Company documents:
  • Certificate of Incorporation (CI)
  • Business Registration (BR)
  • Memorandum & Articles (M&A)
  • Annual Return (NAR1/AR1)
  • Tax documents (BIR51/52/54)
• Personal documents:
  • ID/Passport + residential proof of directors and UBOs
  • Proof of ownership (e.g., shareholder register)
• Bank documents:
  • Bank statement
  • Board resolution for account opening
  • Certificate of Incumbency

If ultimate ownership cannot be confirmed, an ownership and control structure chart must be provided (including signature, position, and date, valid within 6 months).

Partnerships

• Company documents:
  • Business Registration (BR)
  • Partnership Agreement
  • Tax documents (BIR52)
• Personal documents:
  • ID/Passport of all partners
  • Proof of residential address
  • Proof of partnership interest
• Bank documents:
  • Bank statement, or bank reference letter
  • (Some banks may require the Partnership Agreement)

Ownership and control chart

If Genstore cannot verify the UBOs through submitted documents, you must provide an ownership and control chart. This chart must include:

• All legal entities and UBOs
• Official name, legal structure, and registered country/region of each entity
• Ownership percentages and control relationships
• How the criteria for identifying UBOs are met (e.g., individual holding 25% of shares)
• Signature, job title, and signing date (must be within 6 months)