An authorized signatory is an individual who has been granted the legal power and authority to sign binding contracts, financial agreements, and compliance attestations on behalf of a corporate entity. In the payments industry, this is typically a CEO, CFO, Director, or a registered Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO).
The Importance in Payment Compliance
When a business opens a merchant account or submits a Payment Card Industry (PCI) Attestation of Compliance (AOC), the document must be signed by an authorized signatory. If an unauthorized employee (like a junior web developer) signs the AOC, the document is legally invalid, leaving the acquiring bank exposed to massive liability during a card network audit.
Frictionless E-Signatures with Onlayer
Tracking down the correct executive to sign compliance forms often stalls the onboarding process. Onlayer solves this by supporting self-submitting merchant models with integrated e-signature capabilities. Once the authorized signatory is verified, they can securely review and sign their SAQs and AOCs directly within the portal, driving up to an 85% increase in completed submissions.
