A user is a representation of a person or entity in the Dots system. A user can be created by a platform or by the user themselves but can be connected to any platform. The platform can add additional data to a user such as an SSN and address for tax purposes and add bank accounts and other payment methods.

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Creating a user

Creating users happens through the /v2/users endpoint. Once hit, a dots user will be created if one does not exist based on phone number. This user must then be verified through a one-time code sent over text-message. This code can be requested through the /v2/users/{user_id}/send-verification-token endpoint and then verified through the /v2/users/{user_id}/verify endpoint.

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TIN submission and verification

A user’s Tax Identification Number (TIN) is either their United States Social Security Number (SSN), Employer Identification Number (EIN), or their Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). A user’s TIN may be submitted through a payout link, a compliance flow, or through POST /users/:id/compliance API endpoint. Once submitted, a user’s TIN will automatically be verified. This usually takes a few seconds, or rarely up to a day. You can check the status of the TIN verification in the compliance.w9.tax_id_verification field returned the GET /user/:id endpoint. The possible statuses are:
  • unsubmitted: The user’s TIN has not been submitted yet.
  • pending: The user’s TIN is pending verification.
  • matched: The user’s TIN was successfully verified and matched their name.
  • mismatched: The user’s TIN did not match their name.
A mismatched TIN may be corrected by resubmitting the correct TIN.

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OFAC compliance

Dots verifies that all users are not sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). When a user is created, we query the OFAC’s list of sanctioned individuals. If a user matches an entry on the list, we flag them and require them to verify their identity. The flag will be cleared when we confirm they are not a sanctioned individual. You can check a user’s OFAC compliance status by reading the compliance.flags.ofac_status field returned by the GET /user/:id endpoint. The possible statuses are:
  • unflagged: The user is unflagged.
  • id_verification_required: The user must complete ID verification.
  • in_review: The user has completed ID verification and requires a manual review.
  • flagged: The user is suspected of being a sanctioned individual.