Pocket Broker Identity Verification (KYC)

Why it's required

Identity verification does not always arrive at the same moment. According to the operator's anti-money-laundering policy, it is not compulsory for every client at registration and can be requested at the Company's discretion, at any time.

That explains the most frequent confusion about this procedure: some people open an account and trade without being asked for anything, and others receive the request soon afterwards. Neither case is a system error. The operator's policy expressly reserves the power to request identification whenever it considers it necessary, without committing to a public trigger or to a calendar.

The practical consequence is the one worth keeping in mind from day one: the procedure does not depend on your planning but on the Company's request, and when it turns up it tends to do so at the worst possible moment, which is when you want to cash out. Preparing the documentation before you need it does not speed anything up on its own, but it stops a request finding you without the proof of address to hand.

What it has to do with withdrawals

The operator does not publish a rule making every withdrawal conditional on prior verification, so it would be wrong to present it that way. What its policy does describe is a request that can arrive at any time and that, while it is pending, takes up a place in the queue of any open matter. Together with the Payment Policy rule requiring withdrawal through the same payment system and with the same identifier used to deposit, it is one of the two points that explain the most delays when taking money out. The full circuit is in the withdrawal guide.

The one-account rule

The operator's Public Offer prohibits a client, whether an individual or a legal entity, from holding more than one trading account. That matters here for a specific reason: faced with a stuck procedure, the temptation to register again with another email is strong and goes against the rule the Company itself publishes. If the original registration was left with a detail entered wrongly, the way out is to correct the profile, not to duplicate it. How those details are filled in at the start is in the account opening guide.

Identification can be requested at any time and at the Company's discretion, so it is worth having the documentation ready before it is needed.

Accepted documents

There are three families of documents listed by the operator's anti-money-laundering policy: identity, address and, in some cases, a photograph of the client holding the document near their face.

One detail about the first group deserves a note, because it is the one that surprises people most: the policy speaks of notarised copies of a passport, driving licence or national ID card. That is not the same as a photo taken with your phone, and it is worth reading the specific request you receive before sending anything.

How to complete verification step by step

1. Read the request exactly as it arrived. The policy provides for several pieces, but the specific request tells you which ones apply in your case. Starting there avoids sending documentation nobody asked for.
2. Check the profile before uploading anything. The full name, surnames and address in the profile have to match what the documents say. Correcting after a rejection costs more than correcting beforehand.
3. Get the copy in the form requested. If the request mentions a notarised copy, sort it out with a notary rather than uploading a home-made photo that will bounce.
4. Prepare the proof of address. A recent bank statement or utility bill, in your name, with the full address visible.
5. Take the photos in even light. A matt surface, no direct flash on the plastic, no shadows from the phone itself and no cropped edges.
6. Upload the files and keep a copy. Hold on to what you sent and the date you sent it: it is the first thing you will need if you have to complain.
7. Note the date of the request. The period the policy sets runs from the Company's request, so that date is your reference.

On file format, maximum size or the number of attempts, the operator publishes no specifications in the policy readable on its site. Whatever appears in the personal area at the moment of uploading the documents overrides any general list.

Identity, address and, if asked for, a photo holding the document; the profile details matching the ones on the paper is what weighs most.

Reasons for rejection

Rejections are almost never substantive. They cluster around three mechanical causes: an image that cannot be read, details that do not match the profile, and documentation out of date or incomplete.

None of the three has anything to do with who you are, and all of them are fixed in a short while. Resending the same file without changing anything, on the other hand, repeats the result.

• An illegible image. A blurred photo, a reflection on the plastic, a cut-off edge, a finger covering a detail. It is the most common cause and the easiest to solve: diffuse light, a matt surface and the whole document inside the frame.
• Details that do not match. A middle name left out at registration, two surnames the wrong way round, an abbreviation where the document writes the name in full. The policy asks for identity and address to be confirmed, and that confirmation fails if the profile says something else.
• An expired document. An identity document out of date confirms nothing. The same goes for an old proof of address, which stops establishing where you live today.
• A proof in someone else's name. A bill in the name of the property owner or of a relative does not establish your address, however correct the address itself may be.
• A plain copy where a notarised copy was asked for. The policy mentions notarised copies for identity documents; if the request repeats that, a loose photo does not replace it.

Correcting a profile detail

When the problem is in the profile and not on the paper, the order matters: first correct the detail, then resend the document. The other way round, the second submission runs into the same discrepancy that brought the first one down. Other common account blocks, and what to do about each, are gathered in the common problems guide.

A legible image, details identical to the profile and documentation in date cover the vast majority of rejections.

If it gets stuck

If the procedure stalls, the first thing is to place yourself within the only period the operator publishes, because it marks what is worth complaining about and what is not yet.

The operator's anti-money-laundering policy sets one period and it runs in one direction only: from the client towards the Company. The identification must be completed within 10 business days of the Company's request, and the Company may extend that period to 30 business days. For its own review, by contrast, the policy publishes no window. It is worth spelling out because figures do circulate about this: there is no official response time, and any number you find about how long the review takes does not come from a page of the operator.

What to do, in order

1. Look at the status in the personal area. A request for additional documentation usually shows up there before anywhere else.
2. Check the registered email, spam folder included. If the Company asked for one more piece and the message was filtered out, the procedure is waiting on you.
3. Compare profile and document one more time. Five minutes of reading avoid a second rejection over the same discrepancy.
4. Write from the registered email. State which documents you sent, on what date and what exact message appears on screen. Without those three details, any reply will ask you for them.
5. Leave the formal complaint for last. The Public Offer names the operator's support email as the only channel for formal complaints.

While the procedure moves along, activity does not have to stop entirely: the demo account is funded with virtual money and lets you keep practising without risking cash. You can try the demo account while you wait, bearing in mind that a result in demo does not anticipate a result with real money. How to write to support so the query gets somewhere first time is in the customer support guide.

The only published period runs from the client to the Company: 10 business days from the request, extendable to 30 by the Company itself. For the review there is no official window.

Tips to get it approved

Being approved first time is almost always a matter of preparation, not luck. Four habits account for the difference between a one-round procedure and a three-round one.

• Enter complete details from registration. Name and surnames exactly as they appear on the document, unabbreviated and without leaving out the middle name. It is the adjustment that avoids the most rejections and the only one made before a problem exists.
• Keep the proof of address to hand. A bank statement or utility bill in your name, with the address legible and recent.
• Photograph in indirect light. Near a window, no flash, the document resting on a matt surface and nothing casting a shadow over it.
• Keep everything you send. Files, date and time. A well-documented procedure is chased up in one message; one with no record takes five.

An order that saves friction

The documentation is best dealt with at a calm moment and not when there is already a money matter under way. The clock that runs is yours, and running it with the files already prepared costs nothing. Before funding, alongside the identification, it is worth looking at the Payment Policy rule requiring withdrawal through the same system and with the same identifier used to deposit: choosing the method with the exit in mind is the decision that saves the most trouble.

One last note that is not negotiable: verification is an administrative procedure and does not change the nature of the product. Trading fixed-time options and CFDs carries significant risk and can lead to the loss of the invested capital. If you want to get to know the interface before committing money, the demo account is the short route; open an account is a step worth taking only once you have understood the mechanism and the risk.

Complete details from registration, the proof to hand, photos in even light and a copy of everything sent: with that the procedure is settled in one round.