We pay real money out to people we have never met, which is exactly the situation identity rules exist for. This page tells you when a check is triggered, what we ask for, and what we do with it.
01
When a check is required
Two moments trigger a check: your first sell request, and your first withdrawal. Buying from the desk with money you added by card does not require one.
Once your application is approved it stays approved. You can submit further sell requests and withdraw from €5 upwards without repeating the process, unless something material changes — a new country of residence, or a document that has expired.
02
What you fill in
Full name as it appears on your identity document, date of birth, citizenship, country of residence, and your tax identification number. The email on your account is included with the application.
Use the legal form of your name. A mismatch between the application, the document and the card you withdraw to is the most common reason a check comes back for correction.
03
The two documents
An identity document: passport, national ID card or a photo driving licence where that is accepted in your country. All four edges visible, in focus, nothing covered.
A proof of address issued in the last three months: utility bill, bank statement or a government letter showing your name and the address you gave. Screenshots of online banking are fine as long as the name, address and date are legible.
JPEG, PNG, WebP or PDF, up to 5 MB per file. Anything else is rejected by the upload form rather than silently failing.
04
How a review goes
An operator reviews the application by hand. It moves through in review, then either approved or declined, and you get an email on each change.
A decline is not permanent. The email states what was wrong — usually an unreadable document or a date outside the window — and you can submit again straight away.
05
Storage and access
Documents go into private storage that is not addressable from the public internet. Every read is authorised per request, and only staff working your case can open a file.
Administrative actions on your application are written to an internal audit log with the operator and the time.
Retention of identity records after an account closes is OWNER INPUT REQUIRED, and must be set to the statutory period in the operator's jurisdiction.
06
Screening and refusals
Whether the desk screens applicants against sanctions and politically exposed person lists, and with which provider, is OWNER INPUT REQUIRED.
We can refuse or unwind a transaction where documents look altered, where the account behaviour suggests someone else controls it, or where we are prohibited from dealing with you. Where the law allows, we explain why.
07
If you would rather not
You can keep using the desk as a buyer. Your purchases balance, your orders and your history all keep working without an identity check.
What you cannot do without one is sell items to us or take money out. There is no workaround we can offer on that, including for small amounts.