Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Updates to US verification requirements

support.stripe.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 95 posts

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#71

Post by drpossum »

bonton89 wrote: post #49
cj wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the message I see in my account: > Invalid address. Your business address must be a valid physical address from which you conduct business and cannot be a P.O. Box. This address is not shared publicly and can be your personal address. You may use a P.O. Box as your customer support address. So in other words, a personal home address should work. Although its odd your error message is seemingly saying a person…

> This address is not shared publicly and can be your personal address. But who will it be sold to privately?

It will be given away to the government for free

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#72

Post by JoshuaRowe »

fragmede wrote: post #65
JoshuaRowe wrote: post #2

They don't even really specify this in their link in the email sent, but I am getting this error when going to my dashboard now: Invalid address. Your business address must be a valid physical address from which you conduct business and cannot be a private mailbox. Please correct the following... So now, I have to find a new business address (either rent a place, or do a virtual office), which isn't as simple as just…

> Once again, Thanks Stripe. It's been real, but it's probably time to move on. I don't follow. The CTA and BOI things you linked to are from the (US) government, so everybody else has to force you to do the same thing. Are you just shooting the messenger here?

The separation of personal and biz addresses is an important concept in owning a business. Not only for privacy, but for proving the biz is a separate entity and such. This is probably one of 2 - 3 recent changes that they have imposed on my biz, all without seemingly any lead time. 15 days isn't really a lot of lead time to change your business address when you are over capacity already and have to (or would much prefer to) focus on things that actually make money. The one previously was a change that turned me previously paying $0 a month to over $60 (maybe $80 or more depending on volume) for the same feature set. Once again, without notice. Having a UPS box has for years been recognized as a legitimate way to have a biz address as well. Just not USPS PO boxes. The CTA and BOI legislation doesn't impose restrictions on that as far as I know, but Stripe does? My bank accepts my business address as a UPS box, but Stripe doesn't? That doesn't seem right. The CTA and BOI are more closely aligned with the banking secrecy act, which is just uncle sam wanting to know that a real person with a residential address owns a given bank account to prevent money laundering etc.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#73

Post by JoshuaRowe »

MSFT_Edging wrote: post #36
codetrotter wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A physical biz address does not mean you have to have an office. I’ve been using my home address as the business address of my company ever since I first created it, and before that I did the same for my sole proprietorship.

Something I enjoy doing is looking up the true landlords of managed properties to see if they're absentee. More often than not, their business address gives me their home address somewhere across the country. Just a thought. Nearly every landlord I've had has been an absentee landlord. Quite interesting.

This is the perfect reason for having a true separation of personal / biz addresses and the reason I went for the UPS box in the first place. Business is business and home is home. It becomes more clear if I had some sort of public persona based biz too. Youtube etc. or some controversial company, even slightly so.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#74

Post by JoshuaRowe »

Shank wrote: post #13
cj wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the message I see in my account: > Invalid address. Your business address must be a valid physical address from which you conduct business and cannot be a P.O. Box. This address is not shared publicly and can be your personal address. You may use a P.O. Box as your customer support address. So in other words, a personal home address should work. Although its odd your error message is seemingly saying a person…

> Although its odd your error message is seemingly saying a personal address doesn't work, unless "private mailbox" means a privately rented commercial box, like UPS. Yeah, services like Earth Class Mail specifically hand out addresses that say "PMB XXXXXXXX" where PMB is "Private Mail Box".

My personal address isn't my business address. They are different. Mixing the two, while seemingly innocuous, actually can mean opening myself up to liability issues or a good argument that the biz that I operate isn't actually different from me the person. This isn't going to matter in 99% of things, but if you are ever sued, can be used as a reasoning to actually be able to retrieve damages from you the person versus just from the LLC. It's one of the reasons to try to have a strong separation early on in the biz, if you can. The IRS also doesn't like the mixing funds and such with bank accounts. It's the same reasoning, just different domains.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#75

Post by fragmede »

JoshuaRowe wrote: post #72
fragmede wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Once again, Thanks Stripe. It's been real, but it's probably time to move on. I don't follow. The CTA and BOI things you linked to are from the (US) government, so everybody else has to force you to do the same thing. Are you just shooting the messenger here?

The separation of personal and biz addresses is an important concept in owning a business. Not only for privacy, but for proving the biz is a separate entity and such. This is probably one of 2 - 3 recent changes that they have imposed on my biz, all without seemingly any lead time. 15 days isn't really a lot of lead time to change your business address when you are over capacity already and have to (or would much pr…

> The CTA and BOI legislation doesn't impose restrictions on that as far as I know,

ah. The two options here are either the 2024 rule change means it now does, which I'm assuming stripe's (and at least a few other companies, it sounds like) lawyer's read is it does. Or it doesn't and they're being a bag of dicks. which explains your reaction.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#76

Post by anticorporate »

Aurornis wrote: post #52
anticorporate wrote: post #17

I understand there are some larger compliance-related issues that need to be solved and that this seems like it's an unintended consequence of the regulatory requirements put in place to solve this. But there are huge consequences for small business owners in requiring a physical address. I don't need or want anyone to ever physically appear at an address I provide, because providing _any_ address for my business is…

> I don't need or want anyone to ever physically appear at an address I provide, Is Stripe revealing this address to customers? This page only says a business address must be provided, not that it will be revealed to customers. If you have a business, you already have a business address and you're paying taxes somewhere. Why can't you use that address? > Suddenly if my business exists at my home address, my city want…

> If you have a business, you already have a business address and you're paying taxes somewhere. Why can't you use that address?

As I said, I pay for the privilege of having a fictional address with a registered agent. It's a racket, but unfortunately, an unavoidable one until we stop this nonsense.

> What country are you in? Do you have any examples of this happening, or is this just a hypothetical you came up with?

The United States, and yes, I personally know someone who this happened to.

> Regardless, if your business is registered and you're paying taxes then, again, there's already an address associated with it. Stripe verifying this address isn't going to send local inspectors to your home.

My problem isn't with Stripe, it's with governments creating unnecessary hoops for people to jump through that don't actually solve any compliance issues. I pay for the privilege of avoiding it with a third party service that provides an address. I shouldn't have to. It doesn't help me, and it doesn't actually do anything for regulatory compliance.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#77

Post by anticorporate »

gamblor956 wrote: post #22
anticorporate wrote: post #17

I understand there are some larger compliance-related issues that need to be solved and that this seems like it's an unintended consequence of the regulatory requirements put in place to solve this. But there are huge consequences for small business owners in requiring a physical address. I don't need or want anyone to ever physically appear at an address I provide, because providing _any_ address for my business is…

Your business's primary place of business is your home (referring specifically to the parent comment, not businesses in general). That you can also carry out the business where ever you physically are does not change that basic fact from a legal or tax perspective. Zoning compliance is not required for a home office (assuming white collar type work). Many, but not all jurisdictions require business licenses, even for…

> Zoning compliance is not required for a home office (assuming white collar type work).

Actually, it is in my jurisdiction. I have to have a Home Occupation Permit for any type of business whatsoever registered at my home. This is why my address on file is my registered agent, in a different city in my state that does not have this absurd requirement.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#78

Post by J_Shelby_J »

rickreynoldssf wrote: post #53
hackerfooze wrote: post #40

Another classic issue with draconian regulations that could be easily solved with Web3 payments.

It's not so easy for customers to buy crypto to make these Web3 payments. If your bank is Chase you basically cannot without them closing all your accounts.

Chase doesn’t let you send funds to Robinhood or coinbase?

Fwiw I used Solana pay last year in a brick and mortar retail, and it was on par with Apple Pay UX. Granted I already had phantom on my phone with funds in it.

But yeah I hear you that asking someone to download a wallet and fund it isn’t a great way to run a business. But if the burden of regulations becomes too high, I could see it being a thing. Fwiw, I see the need for regulation here, but regulation needs to be weighed against the damage it does to small businesses and individuals just trying to do a side hustle.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#79

Post by anticorporate »

Arainach wrote: post #64
anticorporate wrote: post #17

I understand there are some larger compliance-related issues that need to be solved and that this seems like it's an unintended consequence of the regulatory requirements put in place to solve this. But there are huge consequences for small business owners in requiring a physical address. I don't need or want anyone to ever physically appear at an address I provide, because providing _any_ address for my business is…

> I don't need or want anyone to ever physically appear at an address I provide, because providing _any_ address for my business is a fiction. Surely you see how this is also a desirable trait for every scammer out there? > if my business exists at my home address, my city wants a local business license and zoning compliance permit, so they can inspect the non-existent physical location and be sure the zero traffic i…

You're missing the point. I don't operate a business from my home. I operate a business from my truck and from client sites. There literally is not a business at my home.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#80

Post by Arainach »

anticorporate wrote: post #79
Arainach wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't need or want anyone to ever physically appear at an address I provide, because providing _any_ address for my business is a fiction. Surely you see how this is also a desirable trait for every scammer out there? > if my business exists at my home address, my city wants a local business license and zoning compliance permit, so they can inspect the non-existent physical location and be sure the zero traffic i…

You're missing the point. I don't operate a business from my home. I operate a business from my truck and from client sites. There literally is not a business at my home.

All businesses have a home. They must comply with a set of laws (yes, including business permits) and be able to respond to disputes. A business with no physical location is not practical in society.
Post reply on HN