Set up your Trust entity
About Trust entity sign up
If your entity is a Trust—meaning that you or another person holds property or assets for the benefit of others (beneficiaries) under a Trust structure—you can set up a Square account with the Trust Australian Business Number (ABN) and a copy of your Trust Deed, along with a few other details outlined below.
When applying for a Square Account, you may not be able to use our services or deposits may be suspended if we do not receive all of the information or if we require further documentation to comply with obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act of 2006.
Before you begin
To activate your Square account for card processing, we need information about the President, Treasurer, and Secretary (or equivalent officers) in your organisation.
To approve your association for card processing, we must verify your identity to comply with Anti Money Laundering legislation. We do this via Equifax. You can read more about our obligations via the AUSTRAC website.
ACN collection is optional for appointers or trustees of a Trust that are companies. We will pre-fill some information based on the ACN provided. Please review the information to make sure it is complete and accurate. Inaccurate information will affect your ability to take payments or receive settlements straight away.
Some browsers have trouble uploading files on your Square Dashboard. We suggest using a supported browser such as Google Chrome, Safari, or Firefox on a desktop computer or laptop. Files must be a maximum size of 25MB and in a supported file format (PDF, JPEG, JPG, PNG or TIFF). If you’re still having issues uploading files, please contact Square Support.
Step 1: Sign up for Square
Learn how to set up your Square Account.
Step 2: Provide personal details
Verify the account holder’s identity by providing their name, current residential address, and date of birth using a valid driver licence, passport, or Medicare card.
Step 3: Provide Trust details
Select Upload File to upload your Trust Deed.
Select Yes or No from the drop-down questions regarding your Settlor and Settlement Amount (sometimes also defined as the Settled Sum). This can usually be found on the Schedule Page of your Trust Deed.
We require your signed Trust Deed and any other amendments to the Deed as appropriate. If you are unable to provide a full copy of the Deed, provide the Front Page, the Schedule Page(s) and Signature Page(s) of the Trust, to satisfy the list of requirements below.
Ensure the Trust Deed has the following:
- The Trust Deed is signed
- Full name of the Trust
- Full name and address of all Trustees
- Full name of all Beneficiaries or Register of Unit Holders
- Full name of Settlor(s)
- Full name of Appointor/Principal (where applicable)
Note: The Trust Deed must be 25MB or smaller in file size and uploaded in a PDF, JPEG, PNG or TIFF file type.
Not all Trusts have Settlors, but if yours does, we’re required to verify:
- The ‘settlement amount’ is equal to, or greater than $10,000; and
- The settlor is a living person.
The ‘settlement amount’ is generally defined in the Schedule of a Trust Deed, towards the end of the document. During sign up, we’ll ask if your Trust Deed has a Settlor that meets the listed qualifications. If it does, our Account Services team will email you for required documents and further information after the sign up process.
We’ll need to collect information about the Trustee(s) listed on the Trust Deed. There can be one or more Trustees listed on a Trust Deed, and they can be an individual, a company, or, less often, a different entity (such as a partnership or association).
If you enter an individual as a Trustee, we’ll need the following:
- Full Legal Name
- Residential Address
- Date of Birth
Note: If you enter a company as a Trustee, you will need to provide the ACN for the company, and we will verify the shareholders of the company.
For any other entity types listed as Trustees, we’ll need to manually verify them, which may take a little longer. We require further information and documentation about these entities, and once verified, you can start processing payments .
We’ll also need to verify the Appointor(s) or the Unit Holder(s) (as applicable) of your Trust. Similar to how we verify Trustees, these roles can be held by individuals, companies or, in the case of Unit Holder(s), another Trust.
For an individual, please provide:
- Full Legal Name
- Residential Address
- Date of Birth
Note: If the Appointer or Unit Holder is a company, you must provide the ACN for that company, and we will verify its shareholder(s).
If the Appointor or Unit Holder is another Trust, you must upload the Trust Deed for that entity, and we may need to reach out for further information following completion of the sign up process.
If your Trust Deed does not list an Appointor (also sometimes defined as the Principal), we’ll reach out for further information after the sign up process is complete.
Verification of the Settlor (if applicable)
Not all Trusts have Settlors, but if yours does, we’re required to verify the identity of the individual if:
The ‘settlement amount’ is equal to, or greater than $10,000; and
The settlor is a living person.
The ‘settlement amount’ is generally defined in the Schedule of a Trust Deed, towards the end of the document. During sign up, we’ll ask if your Trust Deed has a Settlor that meets the listed qualifications. If it does, our team will email you for required documents and further information after the sign up process.
Verification of the Trustee(s)
We’ll need to collect information about the Trustee(s) listed on the Trust Deed. There can be one or more Trustees listed on a Trust Deed, and they can be an individual, a company, or, less often, a different entity (such as a partnership or association).
If you enter an individual as a Trustee, we’ll need the following:
Full legal name
Date of Birth
Residential address
If you enter a company as a Trustee, we’ll need the following:
Company name
ABN/ACN
Information about the shareholders of your company (including their full name, date of birth and residential address)
If you enter a different entity as a Trustee, we’ll need the following:
Entity name
ABN/ACN (if applicable)
For any other entity types listed as Trustees, we’ll need to manually verify them, which may take a little longer. We require further information and documentation about these entities, and once verified, you can start processing payments.
Verification of the Appointor(s) (if applicable)
We’ll also need to verify the Appointor(s) of your Trust if applicable. Similar to how we verify Trustees, this role can be held by individuals, companies or other entity types.
If the Appointor of your Trust is an individual, we’ll need the following:
Full Legal Name
Date of Birth
Residential Address
If the Appointor of your Trust is any other entity type, we’ll need the entity name and ABN/ACN (if applicable). Further information may be required to verify the required individuals of these entities so you may receive a request following the sign up of your account.
If your Trust Deed does not list an Appointor (also sometimes defined as the Principal), please provide the information of your Trustees and we’ll reach out for further information after the signup process is complete.
Verification of the Unit Holder(s) (if applicable)
If your Trust has Unit Holders, you can indicate this during the signup process and we’ll reach out for further information to verify this role after the signup process is complete.
Troubleshoot account sign up
Learn how to Troubleshoot Square account activation issues. Alternatively, contact Square Support.
