Questions and answers

Yes. Every WBWO member is certified first. Once you pass the checks and your audit, you become a member and can use the member platform, financial support, mediation and the other services.

Startups pay from US$100 a year, small businesses US$360 and mid-sized businesses US$900. For these three, the audit is included. Large companies and groups pay from US$2,400 a year plus the auditor’s costs, which we agree in writing before the audit.

You pay the first year’s fee by card after you send your application. If we don’t accept your business, we refund the fee minus 5%. We don’t refund it if the application contains false or misleading information. We can’t accept cards issued in India yet.

Most applications are decided within 5 to 14 working days of receiving all the documents. The biggest delay is usually waiting for everyone named to send their ID and proof of address.

Yes. Tax documents are optional for Startup and Small business members: send any you have, and they help your review. Startups do send a cancelled cheque from the business account and proof that they’re trading. When they move up a category, they send that category’s documents.

Yes. Each year you tell us what has changed, send any new tax filings and complete a fresh audit. If you don’t renew, your public record shows that certification has lapsed.

When you apply, you get a login for the member platform. Applicants use it to track their application and upload documents; members use it to manage their membership and find other certified businesses. Use “Log in” at the top of any page.

WBWO’s certification committee. It is separate from our membership team, and no member can sit on the committee when their own business is being decided.

Every person who owns 25% or more of the business, every director, and the person making the application. Each sends a passport or national ID and a recent proof of address. The person applying, or a director, also sends a geotagged photo taken at your business premises.

It shows that the business really operates from the address it gives, and that a real person behind it is there. The photo’s location data lets us match it to your business address. A verification officer compares the person with their ID document by eye; we don’t use facial recognition.

KYC (know your customer) checks the people behind the business. KYB (know your business) checks the business itself: its registration, ownership, address, tax registration and bank account.

Only our verification team and your assigned auditor. Documents are encrypted in transit and at rest, and we never share them without your written permission unless the law requires it.

Your business name, WBWO number, country, sector, certification status and audit dates. It never shows your documents, owners’ or directors’ details, financial figures or bank details.

For five years after your membership ends, so we can answer questions about past certifications and deal with any legal claims. Then we delete them.

No. Anyone can check a WBWO number on wbwo.org for free, without an account.

The letters WBWO, a two-letter country code, the year the member joined and four digits, such as WBWO-KE-19-0412.

No. A record confirms that the business is registered, its owners are known and it passed its audit. It isn’t a credit rating or a guarantee of any trade, so use secure payment terms for large or first orders.

Check the number on wbwo.org yourself and compare the seal. The seal on a genuine certificate matches the seal on the public record exactly. If anything doesn’t match, report it.

Email the number, the business details and where you saw them to verify@wbwo.org. We investigate every report.

Loans are open to members in the Small business category or above who have been members for at least a year, once our staff have approved their proof of turnover. Meeting these conditions doesn’t guarantee a loan.

A loan. Support from the Welfare Fund is lent on terms we agree with you in writing before any money is paid, and repayments go back into the fund to help other members.

Yes. We can introduce you to investors and lenders who work with genuine businesses, but we can’t guarantee that anyone will invest. That decision is theirs.

Part of every membership fee, and repayments of earlier loans. The fund’s accounts are published every year.

Members agree to try WBWO mediation before going to court. A neutral mediator works with both sides online, and most disputes are settled within 60 days.

No. World Business Welfare Organisation, Corp is a non-governmental organization, registered as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Colorado, United States. It isn’t part of, or funded by, any government.

By membership fees. Fees cover the cost of checks and services, and a business can’t pay for a better certification result.

Yes. WBWO is registered in Colorado, but certifies genuine businesses in any country where we can check registration and tax records.