Advanced
Institution Types and Members
Learn about institution types, member roles, and requirements
Institution Types
Institution Type
Institution type (institution_type) is the primary legal structure of the institution, which can be one of the following:
| Institution Type | Description |
|---|---|
CORPORATION | A legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners |
LLC | Limited Liability Company, a business structure that combines elements of partnerships and corporations |
TRUST | A legal entity created to hold and manage assets for beneficiaries |
PARTNERSHIP | A business relationship between two or more individuals who share management and profits |
Institution Subtypes
Institution subtype (institution_sub_type) is the primary area of business activity of the institution,
work with your Paxos Partner to understand the mapping from your institution subtypes to ours.
Paxos prohibits certain types of business activity (“Prohibited Businesses”) in accordance with its Compliance policies.
The following non-exhaustive list is representative of the type of activity that Paxos prohibits on its platform. By creating a Paxos Identity, Paxos customers agree not to use Paxos services in connection with any of the following Prohibited Businesses.
ADULT_ENTERTAINMENTDRUGSRANSOMWARESHELL_BANKWEAPONS
Creating Financially Regulated Institutions
Please refer to the following table for creating institutions which are financially regulated.| Regulation Status | Description |
|---|---|
US_REGULATED | Institution financially regulated in the US |
INTL_REGULATED | Institution financially regulated by an international entity |
NON_REGULATED | Non-financially regulated institution |
regulation_status then has additional validations tied to trading_type and other required fields.
| Regulation Status | Trading Type | Fields Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
US_REGULATED | PRIVATE | regulator_name, regulator_jurisdiction, regulator_register_number | Not publicly traded |
US_REGULATED | PUBLIC | listed_exchange, ticker_symbol, regulator_name, regulator_jurisdiction, regulator_register_number | Publicly traded |
US_REGULATED | PUBLICLY_TRADED_SUBSIDIARY | listed_exchange, ticker_symbol, regulator_name, regulator_jurisdiction, regulator_register_number, parent_institution_name | Subsidiary of a publicly traded company |
INTL_REGULATED | PRIVATE | regulator_name, regulator_jurisdiction, regulator_register_number | Not publicly traded |
INTL_REGULATED | PUBLIC | listed_exchange, ticker_symbol, regulator_name, regulator_jurisdiction, regulator_register_number | Publicly traded |
INTL_REGULATED | PUBLICLY_TRADED_SUBSIDIARY | listed_exchange, ticker_symbol, regulator_name, regulator_jurisdiction, regulator_register_number, parent_institution_name | Subsidiary of a publicly traded company |
NON_REGULATED | PRIVATE | None | Not publicly traded |
NON_REGULATED | PUBLIC | listed_exchange, ticker_symbol | Publicly traded |
NON_REGULATED only supports PRIVATE and PUBLIC trading types. PUBLICLY_TRADED_SUBSIDIARY is not supported for NON_REGULATED institutions.
Institution Members
Member Roles
Institution members can have one or more roles that define their relationship with the institution. Each role has specific requirements and applicability depending on the institution type:| Role | Description |
|---|---|
BENEFICIAL_OWNER | Person who owns 25% or more of the institution. |
ACCOUNT_OPENER | Person who opened the account on behalf of the institution. |
AUTHORIZED_USER | Person authorized to transact on behalf of the institution. |
MANAGEMENT_CONTROL_PERSON | Person with significant management control over the institution (e.g., CEO, CFO, COO). |
TRUSTEE | Person who manages assets in a trust for beneficiaries and is legally responsible for the trust. |
GRANTOR | Person who creates a trust by donating assets. |
BENEFICIARY | Person who receives benefits from a trust. |
Role Compatibility by Institution Type
The following grid shows which roles are applicable for each institution type:| Role | Trust | Corporation | LLC | Partnership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BENEFICIAL_OWNER | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
AUTHORIZED_USER | — | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
MANAGEMENT_CONTROL_PERSON | — | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
TRUSTEE | ✅ | — | — | — |
GRANTOR | ✅ | — | — | — |
BENEFICIARY | ✅ | — | — | — |
- Trusts: A trust institution must have members that collectively have the roles of BENEFICIARY, TRUSTEE, and GRANTOR. A member cannot have both BENEFICIAL_OWNER and BENEFICIARY roles.
- Corporations, LLCs, Partnerships: These institutions typically require at least one BENEFICIAL_OWNER and one MANAGEMENT_CONTROL_PERSON.
- For all institution types, members must be Identity objects already created in the system.