How To Verify a Company in Mexico? An Ultimate Guide

Apart from its impressive natural resources, Mexico has almost 130 million people, a rich cultural history, and diversity. It is one of the 15 largest economies in the world and the second largest in Latin America. Being one of the leaders of the second-largest economy in Latin America and one of the most crucial players in the world market, Mexico attracts an enormous number of investors from numerous parts of the globe. Its geostrategic location and proximity to key markets add to its attractiveness. Doing business in Mexico, therefore, requires proper verification, and that’s where the problem lies because it is full of challenges. So, if you are a business in Mexico or want to verify a company in Mexico, you must ensure that the organization you are looking to partner with complies with state and international regulations. This comprehensive guide delves into the current state of business verification in Mexico, shedding light on the challenges and their solutions during business screening.

How to Verify if a Company is Registered in Mexico?

To verify a company in Mexico, it must be registered with the Sistema de Información Empresarial Mexicano (SIEM). It is the Mexican Business Information System forming a complete registration of current companies under pragmatic and promotional points of view, accessible through the Internet to confederations, authorities, companies, and other individuals. Established by the Ministry of Economy, its key roles include offering a centralized database of companies and individuals and helping people find information on registered businesses across Mexico.

Step-by-Step Guide to Verify a Company in Mexico

To verify a company in Mexico, you can search for any business by using different input parameters. However, if you are not a native Mexican, you must select the English version of the portal for your convenience. On the SIEM portal, a Mexican business can be searched by:

• Trade Name: Upon opening the company’s verification portal, you can input the trade name of the business that you intend to verify. It is the name under which an organization conducts its commercial operations; it may be different from the registered name of the organization.
• Camera: This field in the SIEM portal indicates the company’s affiliation with either the Chamber of Commerce or the Chamber of Industry. Camera offers a layer of resources and support to the organization.
• Federative Entity: You can verify a company in Mexico by searching for the geographic region in which it is established. You can filter organizations based on their location within a specific region.
• Activity: On the portal, you can refine the search to find the businesses that operate in specific industries, making it easier for you to find a company of your choice.

Challenges of Verifying a Company in Mexico

Business verification in Mexico can be challenging. While navigating through the public portal, you may face the following difficulties:

• Complex User Interface and Navigation

The user interface and navigation of the SIEM portal are not intuitive to its users. The actual design of the portal is unfriendly, hence making it difficult to use for users who are not so well acquainted with such a business verification portal. It affects the overall experience that the user has towards the SIEM portal from the user’s perspective due to the slowing down in loading times.

• Incomplete Data Accessibility

The official business portal of Mexico requires users to register to access the data. For this reason, business verification in Mexico is such a big challenge. To do business in Mexico, you must register yourself to ensure compliance. In addition, verifying its legality is important before onboarding a third party or doing business with another company. Incomplete organizational data can be a hurdle in business verification checks, thus impeding your business’s success.

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How to verify Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) in Mexico?

In Mexico, a beneficial owner is the one who is entitled to benefit directly or indirectly from the use of goods or services, a transaction and has control over the Mexican legal entity or vehicle. 

A person can be considered an official UBO if they:

• Make decisions in shareholder meetings
• Appoint board members or an administrator
• Has more than 15 percent of the voting shares
• Has the power to control or manage the affairs of that company

To verify a company in Mexico, you must get accurate information on the beneficial owners to confirm the legitimacy of the business they are affiliated with. In Mexico, the Public Procurement Beneficial Ownership is established to enhance transparency and combat financial crimes such as money laundering, corruption, and terrorist funding. However, access to this register is still restricted. In most cases, the complete UBO data is only limitedly available only to some departments such as anti-corruption bodies and law enforcement agencies. Because of this reason, UBO identification on your own can be a big challenge for the business person.

In Mexico, you can also fetch shareholders’ data from the SIGER platform. Managed by the Secretaría de Economía, it is a digital platform that centralizes the legal registration of businesses through the Public Registry of Commerce. Here, you can get information on the partners and shareholders of a specific company. While most of the companies’ data is freely available, the are some companies that have paid documents only.

Conducting AML Checks on Businesses in Mexico

Mexico is considered a high threat to money laundering and other crimes. Mexican law also is effective in fighting the crimes of drug trafficking, fraud, corruption, and tax evasion. Mexico is actively preventing financial crime by implementing AML policies that are compatible with FATF and the European Union. There are two different types of AML checks that can be used to verify a company in Mexico: one applies to the organization and the other to the business person. To ensure complete transparency, the following checks are crucial:

• Adverse Media Screening: This involves tracking, through global media, all negative news affecting both customers and the organization.
• Risk-Based Approach: It involves classifying customers into risk classes according to various factors such as geography, industry, type of transaction, and customer profile. Higher-risk customers require more substantial AML due diligence, while smaller-risk clients require basic CDD checks.
• Sanctions Screening: In this type of AML check, business persons are checked against public sanction lists, preventing organizations from doing business with them.
• PEP Screening: To verify a company in Mexico, this company check is conducted against the PEP database of individuals who have a high risk of being involved in different types of financial crimes due to their influence and positions.

Business Licensing Bodies in Mexico

• Cámaras de Comercio

In Mexico, Chambers of Commerce plays a crucial role in supporting and promoting businesses across multiple sectors. Organizations work with the government, various industry groups, and business owners to develop a favorable setting for trade and economic development. To ensure legal compliance, businesses must obtain necessary licenses from the Chambers of Commerce.

• Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP)

SHCP, or the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit in Mexico, is the regulatory body that manages the country’s public finances. Furthermore, it also plays a crucial role in economic policymaking, tax administration, and supervision of the country’s financial institutions.

• Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV)

CNBV is the main governing body of Mexico’s financial sector. It is the agency that supervises and regulates the banking and securities industries in Mexico to function correctly in a transparent and stable way. One of the main responsibilities of this regulatory body is the protection of both consumer and investor interests, leading to transparent and efficient financial operations.

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How Can The KYB Help You Verify a Company in Mexico?

If you want to verify a company in Mexico, The KYB is your ultimate go-to solution. Our experts can assist you through the business verification process to help you avoid the challenges that you face during the extensive process. We have a unified platform, combining business data from over 250 countries and states, including databases of more than 300M companies. With software that is API integrated, you can retrieve all the essential company data with just one click. At the KYB business, verification is quite efficient because our experts conduct verification checks not only on the organizations but also on the persons running them.

Contact us today and verify the legal status of any registered company in Mexico with us.