Identity verification (KYC)
What KYC is, how we check it, and why a transfer cannot move without it.
KYC stands for Know Your Customer. It is the process of confirming that the person sending money is who they say they are, before the money moves. It is not something we invented to slow you down - it is a legal requirement for us to be able to hold and send your money at all.
What KYC actually is
Before we are allowed to operate, we have to show a regulator that we know who every one of our customers is and that we have checked it. That means collecting identifying information, matching it against reliable independent sources, and keeping a record of the check and its result. Customers usually know this by another name - identity verification, verification checks, or a verification source. It is the same requirement.
We check three things
- That the person is real - matched against a photograph and a government identity document.
- That they are who they claim to be - name, date of birth and address consistent with that document.
- That they are not on a sanctions list, and that the money is not being sent to somebody on one.
How it works
- 1You sign in and select Verify your identity. We ask for your full name, date of birth, and either your national identity number or your passport number.
- 2We ask for a live photo of your face and a photograph of a valid identity document - a passport, national identity card, or driving licence. Some documents let us take the photo through the app; otherwise upload a clear picture of it.
- 3We check your face against the photograph on your document, and check the document itself is genuine and not expired.
- 4We check your details against independent data sources, including sanctions and politically exposed person lists.
- 5The result is usually a few minutes. If a check needs a human, we tell you and it takes up to a day.
You only do this once
Verification is tied to your identity, not to your account. Verify once and your transfers do not stop to ask again - unless your documents expire, or we receive information that requires a re-check.
Why it is needed
The honest answer is four reasons
- The law requires it. Anti-money laundering law requires us to identify each customer before we send money for them, and to re-check when we have reason to doubt an earlier check.
- The same rules put a legal duty on us to know the origin of funds passing through a money transfer service, and to report anything suspicious.
- It is what stops fraud reaching the person being targeted. A verified account is the single strongest signal we have that a transfer is not the second half of a scam.
- It is what makes the money safe. We are not permitted to operate at all unless we can show that we verify every customer.
Why we ask for a face and a document
A name and address can be copied. A face matched to a document, checked against independent data, cannot. This is the part of the process that actually stops somebody opening an account in someone else's name - which is how most fraud against transfer services begins.
What we do with your documents
Privacy commitments
- We keep your document images only for as long as the law requires, then delete them.
- We store what we need to re-verify you - that your check passed and when - not a full copy of your face.
- We never ask you to email a document. Verification happens inside the app or the site.
- We do not sell your data, and we do not share your document images with other companies.
If your verification does not go through
It is usually one of four things: a blurry or cropped photograph of the document, a document that has expired, glare across the document, or a mismatch between your name as registered and the name on the document. Retake it in better light, hold the phone flat, and make sure all four corners and every line of text are visible. If it still fails, Support will tell you what specifically the check did not like.
We will never ask you to verify over WhatsApp or email
Being asked to send a passport photo to a phone number or an email address is not a verification request from us. Do not send it.