At WhitePips, identity verification (KYC) has to be completed and approved before your first payout is paid, and before you can start the free trial. It can also be asked for at other times, for example before a funded account is issued or when your details change. Expect to show government-issued identification, and possibly proof of address and a selfie with a liveness check, and make sure the name on your ID, your WhitePips account and your bank account or wallet all match.
This article sets out what the published terms say about when the check happens, what it can include, and the details that hold a payout up. Where something is not in the terms, it is left out.
What is KYC, and why does a prop firm ask for it?
KYC stands for know your customer. The WhitePips Terms define it as identity verification and related checks. It sits alongside the firm's anti-money laundering, sanctions and fraud controls: customers, payment methods, bank accounts, crypto wallets and payouts are screened against sanctions lists maintained by OFAC, the United Nations, the European Union and the United Kingdom, against lists of politically exposed persons, and for fraud indicators, at registration and on an ongoing basis.
It also enforces the basic eligibility rules. You must be at least 18 and of the age of majority where you live, act for yourself rather than for a company or group, hold only one account, and not be resident in, a national of or located in a restricted jurisdiction.
When does WhitePips ask for verification?
The fixed point is the first payout. The Payout Policy lists approved identity verification among the conditions for requesting a payout, and says your identity must be verified and approved before your first payout is paid.
The other occasions are set out in the Terms and the trial rules:
- Before the free trial. The free CFD trial starts only once verification is approved, so that one person gets one trial.
- Before a funded account is issued, where the firm asks for it.
- When your details change, or when you approach the $1.5M Maximum Allocation one person may hold.
- When a fraud, sanctions or compliance concern arises, or at any other time the firm reasonably considers appropriate.
- Again later. Verification is not permanent. You may be asked to verify again when a document expires, or when a new device, location, bank account, wallet or payment method appears.
On futures accounts, frequent or unexplained IP address changes, a VPN or a proxy start an enhanced identity check at once, and trading may be restricted until your identity is confirmed.
What documents do you need for KYC?
The Terms and the Privacy Policy list what verification may include. Not every item is asked of every trader; the request tells you what is needed.
- Government-issued identification, such as a passport, national identity card or driver's licence.
- Proof of address.
- A selfie, including a liveness check.
- Proof that you own the payment method, bank account or crypto wallet you use.
- Source of funds documentation, and tax identification information where it applies.
- Additional compliance checks, which may include a short video call.
The selfie check may involve a biometric template, created by the verification provider to compare your face with the photograph on your document. The Privacy Policy says this is processed only to verify identity and prevent fraud, and kept no longer than needed for the check and for legal record-keeping. Verification and anti-money laundering records are typically kept for at least 5 years after an account closes, and third-party verification providers may process your documents on WhitePips' behalf.
Does KYC apply to every account type?
Yes. The verification rule in the Payout Policy is tied to the payout, not to the plan, so it applies to funded CFD, Instant and futures accounts alike. It is done for your WhitePips account as a whole rather than for each trading account: required once, then again only as needed, as described above. An Instant account, which is funded at purchase and can request its first payout after its first trade, reaches that point sooner than an evaluation does, which is one more reason to verify early.
Why must your name match everywhere?
Because the payout has to reach the person who was verified. The rules line up in three places:
- The name on your WhitePips account must be your full legal name as it appears on your government-issued identification.
- The name and country on your identification must match your account.
- The bank account or wallet a payout goes to must be in your own name or under your own control. Payouts to family members, friends, companies, or joint accounts where you are not a named holder are not permitted.
A nickname at sign-up, a shortened surname or a partner's bank account are exactly the kind of small differences that stop a payout. If a bank transfer is rejected or returned because the name does not match, WhitePips tells you once the funds come back, re-sends the amount it received back when you give corrected details, less any fees the banks deducted, and a re-sent transfer may need to be verified again.
A worked example: the first payout
Take a funded $50K Edge 1 Step. Before each payout it needs three trading days that each closed at +0.5% of the account size or more, which is $250 a day. The minimum payout is 1% of the starting balance capped at $100, so $100, and the profit split starts at 80%, up to 95% as you scale.
Say the account has $2,500 of payable profit and the three days are done. The request is for $2,000 to you, which fits within the limit of $2,000 from one account in any 7 days. Before it is paid, the Payout Policy checks that:
- the account is funded, in good standing and not under review;
- the profitable days are complete and the payout cycle has run, the first request being on demand once funded;
- identity verification is complete and approved; and
- the payout details are in your own name.
If verification is missing, the payout is not paid until it is approved. Every request gets an automatic receipt confirming it has been received. A trader who verified at the start is not waiting on documents at that point. A payout to a crypto wallet must also be at least $100; the piece on crypto payouts covers the rest of that route.
How do restricted jurisdictions affect verification?
Eligibility is checked at sign-up and again during identity verification. The restrictions cover where you live, your nationality and where you are when you use the services, including while travelling. Payments from, and payouts to, bank accounts, cards or wallets held in or operated from a restricted jurisdiction are not accepted, and a payout may not be routed through a bank or provider in one.
Using a VPN, proxy, false address or someone else's identity to get around the restrictions is a serious breach: accounts can be closed, simulated profit voided and payouts withheld. Screening can also produce a possible match with a sanctioned person who has a similar name; when that happens, WhitePips may pause the account or a payout and ask for information to rule the match out. The current list, and what happens if a country is added to it, is on the restricted jurisdictions page.
What happens if verification fails?
Not completing verification can delay payments, or lead to suspension or closure of the account. If you do not complete it within the time stated in the request, if the documents are false, altered or belong to someone else, or if verification shows you are not eligible, WhitePips may void simulated profit, decline payouts, close the account and every trading account in it without a refund, and report the matter where the law requires. Where the law does not allow a verification decision to be explained, it will not be.
None of that touches an honest application with the right documents. The practical protection is simple: register under your full legal name, and pay out to an account in that same name.
The full conditions are in the Payout Policy, and what happens at your first payout covers the rest of the process.