A new U.S. law called the INFORM Consumers Act requires marketplaces like Bandcamp to collect and verify certain identity and contact information for sellers who earn $5,000 USD or more from at least 200 distinct sales of tangible consumer products - which includes physical merch sold via Bandcamp - in the United States over any continuous 12-month period during the last 24 months. This act is in effect as of June 27, 2023.
If you meet these criteria, our secure third party vendors will need to collect and verify your:
- Name
- Tax identification number
- Physical address
- Phone number
- Email address
- Government-issued ID
- Bank account information
Your bank account information will not be used for any purposes other than verifying ownership of your account in compliance with the INFORM Consumers Act.
Once you reach $20,000 in Bandcamp physical merch sales during any continuous 12-month period over the past 24 months, we’re also required to include your name (or company name), physical business address and business phone number in purchase confirmation emails and on the order history page.
There are three possible exceptions to sharing your full physical address and phone number:
- If your address is your residential address, we'll only disclose your state/province and country.
- If you use a different address for product returns, we'll display that return address.
- If your phone number is a personal line, we will not disclose that number.
Where do I add my seller and bank account information?
Seller and bank account information can be added via the links under the Legal Compliance section of your profile page.
Why is Bandcamp collecting my bank account data, and how is that data being used?
We are legally required to be able to retrieve verified bank account information of all eligible sellers within 3 business days of an official government request. In order to fulfill this requirement, we are using Plaid, a third-party service, to obtain consent to access your bank account information should we need it. Once you grant consent by linking your bank account from your profile page, we will not store, share, access or otherwise use any of your bank account information unless we receive a legally binding request from the U.S. government under the INFORM Consumers Act. If we do receive such a request, your data would only be shared with US government regulators, as required by law.
What if my information has changed since I last provided it?
You are required to keep your information up to date. If anything changes, please re-submit the updated information via the links under the Legal Compliance section of your profile page. We will ask you to review your information on an annual basis to ensure its accuracy.
How can I file for an exemption to not have my full physical address or phone number disclosed?
You may indicate that you are operating from a residential address and/or using a personal phone number via the prompt that appears on your profile page after you provide your seller information. If we determine you don’t qualify for an exemption or if you’re not responding to buyers within a reasonable amount of time, we may need to include your full physical address and phone number in purchase order confirmation emails and on the order history page.
What if I don’t provide valid information?
Providing valid information within 10 days of receiving the email request notification is necessary to continue selling on Bandcamp. If you miss this window, your sales will be blocked until your information has been collected and verified. Once that’s done, sales will be re-enabled and you’ll be back in action.