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Amira van Weegen

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Key Insights

Introduction: Why AML Compliance is Now Relevant for Business Centers

Legal Framework: When Does Your Business Center Fall Under the Money Laundering Act?

Obligations under the GwG for Business Centers

Practical Implementation: Digital Tools and Workflows

Conclusion: AML Compliance as a Competitive Advantage

March 10, 2026

AML for Business Centers: Duties for Virtual Business Addresses Explained Easily

4 min

Impact of the Changes in the Anti-Money Laundering Act for Business Centers

Key Insights

Operators of Business Centers and providers of virtual business addresses may be considered as obliged entities under the Money Laundering Act (GwG) under certain circumstances. Coworking spaces with additional business services – such as serviceable business addresses or mail acceptance – can also be affected. However, it is important to note: Pure coworking memberships, day offices, or meeting room rentals generally do not fall under the GwG.

When you are subject to GwG obligations:
The GwG becomes relevant especially when you offer permanent serviceable business addresses, postal services, or registered office services – not for short-term space rentals or simple coworking offers.

Overview of basic obligations:
This includes KYC (Know Your Customer), KYB (business verification), the identification of beneficial owners (UBO), risk analyses, documentation as well as potential suspicious transaction reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

What changes in 2026:
The GwG Reporting Ordinance introduces binding requirements for suspicious transaction reports, including the use of the goAML portal and structured reporting formats.

Why clear workflows are important:
Only with clearly defined and digitally supported processes can GwG requirements be efficiently implemented in everyday operations and transparently demonstrated during regulatory inspections.

Digital support:
Tools like anny (for booking and management) and Regpit (for KYC and compliance checks) can help structure and efficiently map these processes.

Introduction: Why AML Compliance is Now Relevant for Business Centers

If you operate a Business Center or offer virtual business addresses, you should be well-acquainted with anti-money laundering regulations. It's critical not just how you label your offerings, but the specific services you provide.

Difference between Coworking and Business Center Services

Not affected:
Pure coworking memberships without the use of a business address, day offices, or meeting room rentals generally do not fall under the AML Act.

Potentially affected:
The AML Act becomes relevant primarily if you offer virtual business addresses, legally usable company addresses, mail receipt, or mailbox services.

In the context of this article, we refer to Business Center Services when, among other things, the following services are offered:

virtual business addresses, virtual offices, or mailbox services
Coworking offerings with additional services such as a legal address, mail receipt, or company signage
flexible office offerings where companies can permanently use a business address

The increasing use of virtual business addresses by entrepreneurs, freelancers, and international companies raises the risk of misuse, such as through shell companies or fraudulent structures. Accordingly, regulatory authorities have intensified their inspections in this area.

While the Anti-Money Laundering Act initially mainly affected banks and financial service providers, it can now also apply to service providers who provide business addresses or registered offices. Therefore, carefully check whether your offering can be classified as AML-relevant.

Why this matters

Fines in the range of five to six figures are possible in case of violations.
There is a significant reputational risk if abusive structures emerge through your Business Center.
Practically, this means: identity verification of customers, documentation obligations, and possible suspicious activity reports to the relevant authorities.

This article therefore focuses on Business Centers and Virtual Office Providers and provides practical insights on what the AML Act means for you and how you can prepare for it.

Legal Framework: When Does Your Business Center Fall Under the Money Laundering Act?

Not every offer around flexible workspaces is automatically relevant to AML (GwG). What matters is which services you are actually providing.

Which services lead to AML obligations?

You are typically classified as obligated under AML if you provide the following services:

Service	AML Relevant?
Registered business address for commercial register, trade registration, legal notice	Yes
Mail acceptance, forwarding, scanning of mail	Yes
Company sign, name mention on mailbox/bell	Yes
Pure short-term room rental (day offices, meeting rooms)	Usually no
Coworking membership without permanent address	Usually no

Typical scenarios where business centers may fall under AML:

Virtual offices where customers use the address for commercial register, trade registration, and legal notice
Mailbox services where large volumes of mail are accepted and forwarded for many different companies
Combinations of virtual business address, telephone service, and occasional room rental

These are the questions you should ask yourself

Critically review your offer if you answer yes to one or more of the following questions:

Does your product include a combination of business address, mail service, and external representation?
Is the address described in the contract as company headquarters, business address, or domicile?
Is it explicitly stated that the address can be used for the commercial register, trade registration, district court, or tax office?

Depending on the design of your offer and the state, different authorities may be responsible. Therefore, it is sensible to check early on whether your business model might be classified as AML relevant and whether you should establish appropriate processes.

Obligations under the GwG for Business Centers

If your business center falls under the anti-money laundering laws, you must fulfill certain due diligence obligations and organizational measures. This primarily includes identifying your customers, conducting a risk-based examination of the business relationship, and providing traceable documentation of the processes.

Customer Identification (KYC) and Company Verification (KYB)

A central component is the identification of your customers.

KYC (Know Your Customer): You must verify the identity of natural persons, for example, using an identity document or a digital identification procedure.
KYB (Know Your Business): For companies, you must additionally verify who is behind the company - including the ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) and authorized representatives.

These checks usually take place during the onboarding process, where customer data and documents are systematically collected and reviewed.

Risk Analysis and Documentation

The anti-money laundering law also requires a risk-based approach. This means:

You assess how high the risk of money laundering or fraud is with a customer.
Based on this, you decide whether additional checks are necessary.

All relevant information - such as identity verification, examination results or decisions - must be documented and stored in a traceable manner. In the case of specific suspicions, there is also an obligation to submit a suspicious activity report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Handling Mail and Business Address

If you offer virtual business addresses or mail services, organizational aspects also play a role:

Mail shipments should be securely stored and handled only by authorized personnel.
The use of the address and any mail services should be clearly contractually regulated, for instance, through a domicile agreement or appropriate service contracts.

Data Protection and Data Processing

In all examinations and documentation, you process sensitive personal data. Therefore, you must ensure that:

the GDPR requirements are complied with,
customer data is confidentially stored and processed,
only authorized persons have access to this information.

This ensures that your business center meets both regulatory requirements and handles your customers' data responsibly.

Practical Implementation: Digital Tools and Workflows

Implementing the AML requirements can be significantly simplified when booking, onboarding, and compliance processes are digitally interconnected. Modern platforms like anny and Regpit can help business centers depict these processes in a structured and efficient manner.

Digital Booking and Management
Through platforms like anny, virtual business addresses, mailbox services, or virtual office packages can be booked online and centrally managed. Relevant customer data can already be captured during the booking process.

Automated KYC and KYB Checks
Compliance tools like Regpit enable automated identity and company checks, including ID verification, registry inquiries, and checking beneficial owners.

Documentation and Compliance Reporting
All relevant data, checks, and decisions can be documented in a structured manner. This facilitates proof to regulatory authorities and supports internal compliance reporting.

Structured Workflows and Risk Management
Clearly defined workflows allow for transparent control of checks, approvals, and potential manual reviews. This creates a traceable process that fulfills both AML requirements and supports the operational day in the business center.

Conclusion: AML Compliance as a Competitive Advantage

Compliance with AML requirements is not only a legal obligation for business centers but also an opportunity. Clear compliance processes protect you from fines and reputational risks, build trust with customers and authorities, and highlight the professionalism of your offering.

Digital solutions can help integrate these requirements efficiently into everyday operations. When booking, onboarding, and compliance processes are interconnected, identity verifications, documentation, and approvals can be implemented in a structured and traceable manner.

Platforms like anny support business centers in the digital management of virtual business addresses, memberships, and services. Through integration with Regpit, additional KYC, KYB, and compliance checks can be directly incorporated into the booking and onboarding process.

👉 Want to see how this works in practice?
Then book a demo with anny and discover how you can efficiently digitally map booking, customer onboarding, and compliance processes in your business center.

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