VerifyNow
Seller onboarding for SA marketplaces & e-commerce.
Home Affairs SA ID for individual sellers, CIPC for business sellers, bank account verification on every payout account, AML/PEP on high-value merchants, face match to defeat takeover and synthetic-seller fraud — built for SA e-commerce, social commerce and BNPL networks.
In short: what VerifyNow does for a marketplace or e-commerce platform
A defensible marketplace seller-onboarding workflow in South Africa combines Home Affairs SA ID verification for individuals, CIPC company and director verification for business sellers, face match to bind accounts to physical people, AML/PEP screening for higher-risk merchants, and bank account verification (AVS) on the payout account both at onboarding and on any subsequent banking-detail change. For BNPL and instalment products, a credit bureau report is layered on top from a registered bureau.
VerifyNow’s scope: Home Affairs SA ID verification, CIPC company & director verification, bank account verification (AVS), AML/PEP/sanctions screening (190+ countries), face match / liveness, document authentication, consumer trace and phone trace — all under POPIA-compliant consent. VerifyNow does not provide credit bureau reports, does not run SAPS criminal record clearances, and does not verify qualifications. Credit/affordability data comes from a registered credit bureau; criminal clearances from SAPS or an authorised provider; qualifications from the issuing institution or SAQA.
Built for SA online commerce
General e-commerce marketplaces
Horizontal marketplaces onboarding thousands of seller SKUs per month.
Niche / vertical marketplaces
Fashion, homeware, electronics, second-hand — higher-trust categories with stronger KYC needs.
Payment facilitators / PSPs
Sub-merchant KYB under FICA Schedule 1 accountable-institution obligations.
BNPL providers
Consumer verification + NCR-registered credit bureau report (external) for affordability.
Social commerce
WhatsApp / Instagram commerce platforms where trust gaps are larger and ID + face match matter more.
Subscription merchants
Recurring-billing platforms confirming payer identity and bank account ownership.
Behind every seller record
Six services that cover the individual and business seller lifecycle.
Home Affairs SA ID Verification
Verify individual and sole-trader sellers against Home Affairs at sign-up.
CIPC Company + Director Verification
Resolve business sellers against CIPC — registered name, status, directors — then screen each director.
Bank Account Verification (AVS)
Confirm the payout account is in the seller or company name. Run again on every banking-detail change.
AML / PEP / Sanctions Screening
Screen high-value sellers and directors against PEP and sanctions lists at onboarding and periodically.
Face Match & Liveness
Selfie-to-Home-Affairs-photo match. Defeats account-takeover and synthetic-seller attacks.
Consumer Trace
Recorded address and contact history for dispute investigation and recovery on failed marketplace transactions.
Sourced separately from VerifyNow
- • Credit bureau reports / BNPL affordability: obtained from a registered South African credit bureau under NCA Section 19(3).
- • SAPS criminal record clearances: obtained from SAPS or an authorised provider for high-trust seller categories.
- • Qualification verification: obtained from the issuing institution or SAQA where a seller category requires a credential.
- • Transaction monitoring / chargeback scoring: your payment partner’s fraud engine, not a VerifyNow service.
From application to first payout
- 01
Seller application + POPIA consent
Individual or business seller submits their application with explicit consent to run the VerifyNow checks. Consent reference is stored with every verification.
- 02
Identity resolution
Individual: Home Affairs SA ID verification. Business: CIPC Company Match resolves the entity and its directors.
- 03
Face match (individuals)
Individual seller captures a selfie. Face match against Home Affairs binds the account to the physical seller.
- 04
Director AML/PEP (business sellers)
Every resolved director is screened through AML/PEP and, on a risk basis, Home Affairs ID verification.
- 05
Payout AVS
AVS confirms the payout bank account is in the seller's (or company's) name before the first payout. Re-run AVS on any banking-detail change.
- 06
BNPL / credit bureau (external)
If BNPL or instalment products are involved, the marketplace layers a credit bureau report from a registered bureau — not from VerifyNow — for affordability.
FICA, NCR, CPA & POPIA
Marketplaces operate in a layered regulatory environment. The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) sets baseline obligations around disclosure, returns and fair business practice. POPIA governs all personal information collected during seller and buyer onboarding. Where the marketplace handles customer funds, offers BNPL / instalment products, or acts as a payment service provider in its own right, FICA Schedule 1 accountable-institution obligations and NCR registration kick in.
Seller fraud — account takeover, synthetic-seller sign-ups, payout redirection — is the biggest operational risk on most SA marketplaces. The VerifyNow primitive that closes the biggest single hole is AVS on the payout account: confirming the account is in the verified seller’s name at onboarding, and re-running AVS whenever banking details change, stops the majority of payout-redirection attacks. Layered with Home Affairs ID, CIPC and face match, it produces an auditable merchant file for dispute resolution and chargeback defence.
For BNPL products, credit bureau data from a registered South African credit bureau is layered alongside the VerifyNow KYC stack under NCA Section 19(3) — credit bureau reports are not a VerifyNow service.
Marketplace questions
Does VerifyNow run credit bureau checks for BNPL or affordability on marketplace sellers and buyers?
No. VerifyNow does not provide credit bureau reports, credit scores or affordability data. For BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) and instalment products, marketplaces layer a credit bureau report from a registered South African credit bureau alongside the VerifyNow KYC stack. VerifyNow's scope for a marketplace is Home Affairs SA ID verification, CIPC company and director verification, bank account verification (AVS) for payouts, AML/PEP screening, face match / liveness, document authentication and consumer trace — all under POPIA-compliant consent.
How do I verify a business seller on my marketplace?
For a registered business seller, CIPC Company Match resolves the company (name, registration number, status and directors) in real time against the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. Each director then goes through Home Affairs SA ID verification and AML/PEP screening. The payout bank account is verified with AVS to confirm it is in the registered company name. This combination gives a marketplace a defensible merchant file for dispute resolution, chargebacks and, where the marketplace is also an accountable institution (e.g. holding client funds), FICA Section 21 KYB.
What about sole-trader / individual sellers?
Individual sellers are verified with Home Affairs SA ID verification and face match against the Home Affairs photograph, with AVS on the nominated payout account to make sure the money goes to the same person who was verified. Marketplaces typically add AML/PEP screening on a risk basis — for example, above a transaction-value threshold or for cross-border sellers.
Does VerifyNow run SAPS criminal checks on sellers?
No. VerifyNow does not run SAPS criminal record clearances. If a marketplace requires a criminal record check on a seller (relatively uncommon — generally reserved for high-value, high-trust categories like jewellery resale, firearms-related products or specific regulated goods), it must be obtained from SAPS directly or an authorised provider. Qualification verification (also not a VerifyNow service) comes from the issuing institution or SAQA where a seller category requires a credential.
Why verify the payout bank account before the first sale?
Seller fraud on marketplaces often takes the form of account takeover (an attacker hijacks a legitimate seller's account and changes the payout bank details), or synthetic seller accounts designed to cash out stolen goods. AVS at onboarding confirms the payout account is in the verified seller's (or company's) name; re-running AVS when a seller changes their banking details gives the marketplace a second defence against mid-lifecycle payout hijacking.
Is a marketplace a FICA accountable institution?
It depends on the business model. A pure marketplace (buyers and sellers, with payments settled by a licensed PSP) may not itself be a FICA accountable institution. However, if the marketplace holds customer funds, issues e-money, provides BNPL credit or operates as a payment service provider in its own right, it likely falls inside FICA Schedule 1 as an accountable institution or an NCR-registered credit provider. Either way, the VerifyNow verification primitives produce exactly the evidence the marketplace (or its banking / PSP partner) needs for its KYC/KYB obligations.
Close the seller-fraud gap
Home Affairs ID, CIPC, AVS on every payout account, AML/PEP and face match — in one dashboard and one API.