KYC
KYC is the mandatory identity check a service runs on a customer: passport, selfie, sometimes proof of address and source of funds. Without it a regulated venue is not allowed to open your account or move fiat for you.
How it works
A venue is legally required to know who its customer is under anti-money-laundering rules. The base level is a document and a selfie; as turnover grows they ask for a residential address and the origin of the money.
Limits are usually tied to the level of verification: without it you get read-only access or very small amounts; with it, fiat withdrawals and high limits. Which is why it is better done in advance than at the moment you need the money out.
In the EU the requirements are uniform across licensed venues under MiCA and related rules. A euro-handling service with no KYC is not offering you an advantage; it is telling you it operates outside regulation.
What to keep in mind
- It takes timeUsually minutes to a couple of days, longer when a venue is busy. Starting a withdrawal by beginning KYC is a poor plan.
- The data stays with the companyCopies of documents are retained for years by regulation. Databases like these have leaked before; the risk is real, not hypothetical.
- The payer's name must matchPaying from someone else's card or account is a standard cause of a freeze: to compliance it reads as layering through third parties.
- Source of funds is asked in earnestOn larger amounts you will be asked to evidence where the money came from. Statements and contracts kept in advance save weeks.