Representatives

Representatives are individuals who have legal authority or significant responsibility within a business entity associated with a Straddle account. Understanding how to manage representatives is crucial for maintaining compliance and ensuring smooth account operations.

​

Understanding Representatives

Representatives in Straddle serve several key purposes:

1. Legal Compliance: They fulfill regulatory requirements for identifying individuals with control over business accounts.
2. Account Management: They can be authorized to make changes to the account or view sensitive information.
3. Risk Assessment: They help Straddle evaluate the risk profile of an account.
4. Communication Channel: They serve as points of contact for important account-related communications.

​

Key Considerations

​

Creating a Representative

To add a representative to an account, use the Create Representative endpoint.

​

Attributes

When creating a representative, you can specify the following attributes:

Field	Type	Description
account_id	string	The unique identifier of the account this representative is associated with.
first_name	string	The first name of the representative.
last_name	string	The last name of the representative.
dob	string	Date of birth for the representative in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).
ssn_last4	string	The last 4 digits of the representative’s Social Security Number.
email	string	The company email address of the representative.
mobile_number	string	The mobile phone number of the representative.
relationship	object	Describes the representative’s relationship to the account.
relationship.primary	boolean	Whether this is the primary representative for the account.
relationship.control	boolean	Whether the representative has significant control over the business.
relationship.owner	boolean	Whether the representative is an owner of the business.
relationship.percent_ownership	number	The percentage of ownership, if the representative is an owner.
relationship.title	string	The job title of the representative.
external_id	string	Your own unique identifier for the representative.

​

Example Request

Here’s how you might create a new representative:

​

Representative Statuses

Representatives, like accounts, have different statuses that reflect their current state in the system. Understanding these statuses is crucial for managing representatives effectively.

​

Status Details

The status_detail object provides more granular information about the representative’s current status:

​

Update a Representative

During the onboarding process, you may need to update representative information for various reasons. However, the ability to update a representative depends on their current status. Understanding when and why you might need to update a representative is crucial for smooth account onboarding.

​

When Can You Update a Representative?

​

Why Update a Representative?

There are several reasons why you might need to update a representative during the onboarding process:

1. Correction of Errors: Initial submission might contain mistakes that need to be rectified.
2. Additional Information Required: Straddle’s verification process might request more details.
3. Change in Circumstances: The representative’s role or contact information might change during onboarding.
4. Compliance Requirements: Additional information might be needed to meet specific regulatory requirements.

​

What Can Be Updated?

Depending on the representative’s status, different fields can be updated:

​

Example: Updating a Representative

Here’s an example of updating a representative’s information during the onboarding process:

​

Best Practices for Updating Representatives

1. Check Current Status: Always verify the representative’s current status before attempting an update.

2. Minimize Changes: Only update information that is absolutely necessary to avoid delays in the verification process.

3. Provide Explanations: When making significant changes, consider adding a note in the metadata to explain the reason for the update.

4. Monitor Status Changes: After an update, closely monitor the representative’s status for any changes or additional requirements.

5. Prepare for Re-verification: Be aware that certain updates might trigger a re-verification process, potentially extending the onboarding timeline.

​

Handling Update Restrictions

If you attempt to update a representative in a non-updateable status (rejected or inactive), you’ll receive an error response. In these cases:

1. For rejected status: Review the rejection reason in the status_detail. You may need to create a new representative instead of updating the existing one.

2. For inactive status: Contact Straddle support for guidance on how to proceed, as reactivation might be possible in some cases.

​

Lookup a Representative

To view the details of a specific representative, use the Get Representative endpoint.

​

Example Request

​

Best Practices

When working with representatives in Straddle, consider the following best practices:

​

For Platforms: Managing Client Representatives

If you’re a platform creating accounts on behalf of your clients, here are some key considerations for managing representatives: