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Topic: Frustration with third party KYC services in crypto platforms (Read 255 times)

hero member
Activity: 812
Merit: 509
Yeah exactly.

I wouldn't mind giving some KYC to big companies if they can streamline the process. But the fact of the matter is 9/10 when I submit a KYC doc, crypto or otherwise, it gets rejected and I need to provide even more info.

Not sure what is happening. But I do understand that they have to fulfil regulatory requirements.
hero member
Activity: 2044
Merit: 784
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
Mind telling us what platform you're trying to submit KYC with? I've always had the opposite experience. Most of the time, I could never submit a raw photo that I took with my smartphone due to the resolution(and file size) being too high, and I had to manually resize the photo to decrease the file size.

Tip: try taking photos with better lighting. probably shadows and bad lighting is messing with the legibility.
Months ago I had some difficult to complete the verification with Celsius, but after some attempts managed to do it. More recently, on the day I created this thread, tried few times at Gemini Exchange and gave up. So far I haven't tried again.

And on this same day, someone I referred to Nexo didn't manage to fully verify his account, although he tried with different pictures and documents. In contact with the support they told him to wait their manual check, but so far no updates.

About Nexo I was surprised, because when I did my verification months ago it was simple and easy, probably the easiest one I have ever made among all sites. Now I ask myself if this difficult has something to do with their 10$ promotion for new referred users that is valid for limited time. Huh
legendary
Activity: 3668
Merit: 6382
Looking for campaign manager? Contact icopress!
Some websites are using AI at first for KYC verification. Seems a lot of websites just have bad AI that can't understand a single thing on images. My friend wanted KYC verification in one casino and despite the fact that everything was clear on image, he was unable to verify. At first AI was telling that there was light issue on his face, then it couldn't read the text on passport. He had Huawei P8 and this phone doesn't really take bad images, you can check it yourself.
Finally, he had to go in their local office and give his card to operator and then he was verified in a second. He didn't have a verification problem on Binance, he was verified in 1-2 minutes and in this case again, the photo was taken under the same conditions.

I had - some years ago - a similar issue. I contacted the support and I was told that the automated tool was believing that the ZIP code of the street from my address is different (+1) than the actual/real one. I had to put the other zip code in the address I've submitted (edit address) and then the papers were accepted.
The reasons are various. The tools are far from perfect. So the proper solution usually is to ask the support for help, instead of guessing.
hero member
Activity: 2912
Merit: 541
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
It's a waste to not use an exchange if OP has already handed out their KYC info to them (unless there are other alarming reasons to stay away). Best to exhaust every option there is first, otherwise they'd be increasing their risk to identity theft and data misuse by jumping from one exchange to another every time it gets 'hard to pass'.
If OP already sends the document or fills the KYC, OP should finish it by contacting customer services and asking if his verification process is hard to complete. But I do not mind leaving the site if I have hard verification on them as many others will give easiness to their new members because they need members to run their business.

Well, I don't think users like OP would have to undergo frustrations in repeatedly submitting KYC documents, and fail every time, if they have the option to just do away with it. This is time-consuming, irritating, annoying, and so on. Nobody would really get into this inconvenience if they have the choice.

Most often, there must be reasons why some are compelled to comply with this hassle. Perhaps their funds or accounts are locked pending KYC approval. Perhaps they are trying to increase their deposit or withdrawal limits. Or perhaps they need to trade with fiat. I mean, there must be reasons why OP and others cannot simply leave the exchange.
I do not think the exchange can do away with it because once we send the data, that will be recorded on their servers. Unless we skip the process and decide to leave the site without completing the verification, they can not have our full data.

I have experienced my account getting locked by the exchange but after I communicated with their supports system, they realized that I am the owner of my account so they opened the lock and allowed me to continues using their services.
hero member
Activity: 2254
Merit: 870
Some websites are using AI at first for KYC verification. Seems a lot of websites just have bad AI that can't understand a single thing on images. My friend wanted KYC verification in one casino and despite the fact that everything was clear on image, he was unable to verify. At first AI was telling that there was light issue on his face, then it couldn't read the text on passport. He had Huawei P8 and this phone doesn't really take bad images, you can check it yourself.
Finally, he had to go in their local office and give his card to operator and then he was verified in a second. He didn't have a verification problem on Binance, he was verified in 1-2 minutes and in this case again, the photo was taken under the same conditions.
mk4
legendary
Activity: 2786
Merit: 3845
Paldo.io 🤖
I believe KYC services are demanding details that average users can't even supply in an accessible or affordable way. For an example, a top tier quality camera to photo the document.

Mind telling us what platform you're trying to submit KYC with? I've always had the opposite experience. Most of the time, I could never submit a raw photo that I took with my smartphone due to the resolution(and file size) being too high, and I had to manually resize the photo to decrease the file size.

Tip: try taking photos with better lighting. probably shadows and bad lighting is messing with the legibility.
legendary
Activity: 2576
Merit: 1860
I can only suggest you leave the exchanges that you feel are hard to pass the KYC verification and not try to repeat the process if you are tired of getting rejected by them. We, as crypto users, have free to register on any exchange that we want and submit the document that they want but we do not have to try to use that exchange if they are difficulting the process.

Well, I don't think users like OP would have to undergo frustrations in repeatedly submitting KYC documents, and fail every time, if they have the option to just do away with it. This is time-consuming, irritating, annoying, and so on. Nobody would really get into this inconvenience if they have the choice.

Most often, there must be reasons why some are compelled to comply with this hassle. Perhaps their funds or accounts are locked pending KYC approval. Perhaps they are trying to increase their deposit or withdrawal limits. Or perhaps they need to trade with fiat. I mean, there must be reasons why OP and others cannot simply leave the exchange.
hero member
Activity: 2786
Merit: 902
yesssir! 🫡
I can only suggest you leave the exchanges that you feel are hard to pass the KYC verification and not try to repeat the process if you are tired of getting rejected by them. We, as crypto users, have free to register on any exchange that we want and submit the document that they want but we do not have to try to use that exchange if they are difficulting the process.

It's a waste to not use an exchange if OP has already handed out their KYC info to them (unless there are other alarming reasons to stay away). Best to exhaust every option there is first, otherwise they'd be increasing their risk to identity theft and data misuse by jumping from one exchange to another every time it gets 'hard to pass'.
hero member
Activity: 2912
Merit: 541
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
I can only suggest you leave the exchanges that you feel are hard to pass the KYC verification and not try to repeat the process if you are tired of getting rejected by them. We, as crypto users, have free to register on any exchange that we want and submit the document that they want but we do not have to try to use that exchange if they are difficulting the process.
hero member
Activity: 2520
Merit: 783
Encounter this issue before and its so frustrating to repeat the process then been rejected by them, but if you keep sending it they will possibly verify your Kyc Process but make sure that you include all side of your id while taking the pic so that it will be visible to them when they check it and also make sure you submit a good quality picture since sometimes by sending it the image quality will change.
legendary
Activity: 1904
Merit: 1563
Bitcoin Casino Est. 2013
I'm not sure, but photographing your valid ID, even if it's clear and visible, may result in rejection. This is why, instead of using your phone camera, I usually use a printer's scanner to acquire a clear digital copy of the back and front of the valid ID.

The issued ID usually contains a ghost picture and ultraviolet ink that lights in ultraviolet light, resulting in a fuzzy effect, especially when the flash camera is turned on.
legendary
Activity: 2576
Merit: 1860
Although my KYC submissions in the past were never repeatedly rejected by any of the centralized exchanges I used, I have read countless of complaints regarding inefficient KYC services. Exchanges were called scams because of this concern. Funds are locked because users are never able to pass KYC despite countless of attempts. Aside from a poor shots, I guess the number one reason why documents and valid IDs are rejected is that words are written in different languages and are not using the Roman alphabet. This isn't fair. At all.
Maybe those people had just submitted non-clear nor not valid documents? These are the only reasons i do have in mind.

These are probably the two general reasons why they failed. But to be fair, these are not simple challenges to a lot of KYC applicants. On the part of those who could not provide a valid ID in the the English language, for example, it is impossible to go to a local licensing agency and request for a license with English words on it. Moreover, what if all your valid IDs are in Chinese or Japanese characters, for example? And what about foreign writing structures?

I suspect many KYC verifiers are not integrating the most sophisticated algorithm to successfully interpret all these differences.
hero member
Activity: 2856
Merit: 769
Although my KYC submissions in the past were never repeatedly rejected by any of the centralized exchanges I used, I have read countless of complaints regarding inefficient KYC services. Exchanges were called scams because of this concern. Funds are locked because users are never able to pass KYC despite countless of attempts. Aside from a poor shots, I guess the number one reason why documents and valid IDs are rejected is that words are written in different languages and are not using the Roman alphabet. This isn't fair. At all.
This is what i do have in mind too on how they do really have a hard time on verifying theirselves yet i didnt ever experienced such pain in the ass situations of waiting and getting rejected.As long those documents and
face recording or something like do went smooth then everything would be processed and verified it directly.

Maybe those people had just submitted non-clear nor not valid documents? These are the only reasons i do have in mind.
hero member
Activity: 2786
Merit: 902
yesssir! 🫡
Some exchanges allows you to opt for a manual review if you can't get thru using their software, try to reach out with their support. But brace yourself cause anything manual for most CEXs would take time, not to mention replies from support are already slow.

When will my identity be verified?

The personal information and identification documents you submit are reviewed by identity verification software as well as our support agents.

If your submission is clear and consistent, your identity verification should typically take between 5 minutes to 2 hours. If, for some reason, your submission can’t be automatically verified, it will be manually reviewed. This process may take approximately 5 business days. Unfortunately, we are unable to fast track manual reviews.

If you're still unable to successfully verify your identity after several attempts, please contact Coinbase Support to initiate a manual review.
legendary
Activity: 1582
Merit: 1284
You control the speed or shortness of the identity verification process.
Many companies, for the purposes of scalability, program algorithms for automatic document verification.


  • Automatic verification process requires a minimum image quality and resolution to be accurately processed.
  • The minimum requirement is that the image be of high quality and with specific angles.
  • Using a phone camera may delay the identity verification process because it requires human resources to verify the information manually.
  • I've tried ID verification using that and using my manual phone cam, the first option was the fastest.

The speed of the process is related to the accuracy of the image, the brightness, and the lack of tampering with its contents.

legendary
Activity: 2576
Merit: 1860
Although my KYC submissions in the past were never repeatedly rejected by any of the centralized exchanges I used, I have read countless of complaints regarding inefficient KYC services. Exchanges were called scams because of this concern. Funds are locked because users are never able to pass KYC despite countless of attempts. Aside from a poor shots, I guess the number one reason why documents and valid IDs are rejected is that words are written in different languages and are not using the Roman alphabet. This isn't fair. At all.
legendary
Activity: 2366
Merit: 1206
this is a very annoying process, i personally have done a lot of KYC on these exchanges and every time it was a headache, that software they use to capture the person's face is an annoying thing, i spent hours just holding the camera and trying to get it right my face on the camera, my ears fit the design that was in the software but even so the software said it wasn't my face, I spent days doing that, it was very stressful.
I tend to agree because I also experienced do the same as yours, but did you know that there's an exchange that I've bypassed their KYC process last month ago.  I have also been annoyed capturing myself holding my ID and at the same time in the right corner, an exchange name with the date where you process.  I once photoshopped it and replace the name of the exchange and the date and boom, my KYC was accepted after a few minutes.

I think they are right, there's a tool that they use upon verifying the documents you submitted not made by them.  As long as your documents as your image are clear and visible to them, it might be acceptable quickly.
legendary
Activity: 3038
Merit: 1100
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
this is a very annoying process, i personally have done a lot of KYC on these exchanges and every time it was a headache, that software they use to capture the person's face is an annoying thing, i spent hours just holding the camera and trying to get it right my face on the camera, my ears fit the design that was in the software but even so the software said it wasn't my face, I spent days doing that, it was very stressful. I keep asking myself: if the owners of exchanges are anonymous and don't have physical offices and don't have a license, what's the point of doing KYC on these exchanges?
legendary
Activity: 2282
Merit: 2196
Signature Space For Rent
Most probably where you have been trying to verify KYC they are using an automated KYC verification process. As a result, it has been rejecting immediately if not complying with the bot. So read carefully the terms of verification how they want. It's true using low-quality software or programs to verify KYC would get reject multiple times. But it should works if attempt multiple times as well. I will say read it carefully how they actually want all the documents and try to submit accordingly. If the platform is trustworthy then should works.
sr. member
Activity: 1022
Merit: 252
Probably you are KYCing for new platform or new projects ro buy the token or receiving the token that you already bought from a platform.
This maybe happen because their AI recognition is not perfectly developed since they are new, and could not detect the valid document as well, maybe they have support that you have to contact to report your error if you already sure your document is valid.
I've also facing this issue few times and handled by their support.
legendary
Activity: 2968
Merit: 3406
Crypto Swap Exchange
due to their third party KYC sites not accepting the documents provided, although they are perfectly fine and readable.
Apart from what has already been discussed here, have you tried checking the sizes [kilobytes] of the images that you've uploaded? On all of the previous occasions that I had to deal with automated rejections, I noticed my uploaded documents were beyond their allowed size limits [some of them have that requirement in place].
- In other words, sometimes it has nothing to do with the images being blurry or not.
legendary
Activity: 2268
Merit: 18588
Almost all centralized exchanges employ third parties to do their KYC checking for them, and as with most things, they will employ the service which costs them the least amount of money. As a result, you have the worst and least reliable companies processing KYC documents, leading to documents being rejected for completely arbitrary or unknown reasons, and also leading to frequent hacks and leaks due to these cheap companies and their poor security. You can always try complaining to the exchange, but given most exchanges take the same approach of spending as little as possible on their customer service, then you will be unlikely to make much headway. Given that the average exchange user probably only buys or sells a few hundred dollars worth of crypto, then an exchange might only make a dollar or two from that user's exchange fees. That probably isn't worth the cost of them getting someone to manually review the required documents.

The easy solution, not to mention far better since it means you don't have to compromise your privacy and risk your identity, is simply to use a good DEX such as Bisq or LocalCryptos.

legendary
Activity: 1932
Merit: 1273
For scalability purposes, I believe exchanges use an automated process for verifying the ID.

Personally, I was also rejected by the KYC process on some particular exchanges. What I presume is wrong is because on the rejected process, my photo was not on a clear background and I took the photo of ID by hand. I have successfully verified it when I took the documents on a clear background and with a help of a phone holder, to make sure the taken photo did not get blurry.

If you can't take on anymore the KYC process, the only option is to use non-KYC services. Anyway, if you want to try it again, try my suggestion above, take the images to stand still and on a clear background. If that still doesn't work, contacting their support is the only way to go.
legendary
Activity: 3290
Merit: 3011
BTC price road to $80k
There are some exchange site that keeps rejecting me on KYC process but I don't know if it was a camera issue since everything is clear.

I just keep submit and repeat everything until they accept and approve the KYC process maybe they are using a bot to read documents so if your photo is not clear then it will automatically be rejected. That's just my theory because I have some experience submitting my documents after submit just a few minutes I was rejected from them right away.

Unlike on Binance no headache on submitting my documents everything is clean and smooth and approved within a few hours.
hero member
Activity: 2044
Merit: 784
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
I'm facing constant issues when signing up and completing the verification process at crypto currency platforms from different kinds, due to their third party KYC sites not accepting the documents provided, although they are perfectly fine and readable. I don't know why these services are difficulting the process like this, because their customers (crypto platforms) are the main prejudiced in the end, since users can't verify their accounts properly.

I believe KYC services are demanding details that average users can't even supply in an accessible or affordable way. For an example, a top tier quality camera to photo the document. And I suspect the process isn't even done manually by real operators, as right after you send your ID, seconds or minutes later they have already rejected it.

Imagine the volume of stucked verifications these platforms have due to inneficient KYC providers and the potential profit they could have been making if it wasn't this mix of bureaucracy and incapable verifiers.

That is very frustrating. Time is money and in crypto universe it shouldn't be different...
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