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  • Fraud & regulation

KYC: Which Documents to Request for Identity Verification in France

  • 06 July 23

The user identity verification procedure, also known as KYC (Know Your Customer), is a mandatory procedure for marketplaces, which collect funds on behalf of third parties, including their sellers. The regulations require these checks in order to meet obligations relating to the fight against fraud, terrorist financing and money laundering.

 

Marketplaces therefore have an obligation to collect the information necessary to identify and verify the identity of their users, based on the ACPR guidelines.

 

Identity documents admissible as part of KYC for a user in France

 

The following documents are accepted as part of an identity verification procedure:

  • ID card
  • Passport
  • Driving license (new card format)
  • Residence permit

These documents must meet a certain number of conditions in order to be admissible and verifiable by the body in charge of the procedure :

  • The document must be currently valid (no expired documents! Indeed, even if an identity document has a legal period of validity which continues to run after its expiration, this measure is not applicable in the context of an identity verification procedure)
  • The document must be perfectly readable and visible in its entirety
  • The information entered on the document must be consistent with the information declared by the user carrying out the procedure (surname, first name, date of birth, etc.)

Finally, documents can also be refused for different reasons, namely:

  • The document is expired
  • The document photo is blurry
  • The photo of the document is cut off
  • The document photo has shadows or reflections
  • The photo of the document is that of a scan, photo, duplicate or screenshot
  • The information entered on the document does not correspond to the information declared by the user
  • Request for additional supporting documents as part of KYC

In certain cases, identity verification may involve requesting additional documents, in particular proof of address. The proof of address admissible as part of the identity verification is as follows:

  • Energy bill
  • Telephone bill
  • Insurance certificate
  • Certificate of residence
  • Certificate of ownership

Here too, certain conditions must be respected for the document to be admissible:

  • The document must be dated less than one year ago
  • The document must be visible in its entirety
  • The document must be neat and legible
  • The document must be an original
  • The information entered on the document must be consistent with the information declared by the user carrying out the procedure (surname, first name, date of birth, etc.)

The reasons that may lead to a refusal of proof are the same as for identity documents.

 

Additional measures possible during identity verification

 

Finally, certain security rules or certain requirements may lead to the implementation of additional procedures within the framework of KYC. We can notably cite biometric identity verification, which consists of the recognition of an individual through physical or behavioral characteristics.

 

As part of a biometric KYC, a user may be asked to take a photo of their face (from one or more angles), or to perform specific actions (make movements, speak, read a text, etc.). ).

 

The biometric KYC information is then compared and cross-referenced with the identity documents and supporting documents previously communicated by the user, in order to certify the concordance of the information and the person involved in the procedure, to finally ensure that It’s definitely about her.

KYC with Obvy

Obvy integrates individual identity verification into its all-in-one transactional solution. This mandatory procedure is facilitated by Obvy's technological tools (document collection, cropping, flattening, etc.) in order to optimize the processing of documents and increase their acceptance rate.

 

Obvy is also able to carry out biometric identity verifications, simply and dynamically through the user's webcam or phone.

 

We invite you to discover all the functionalities that we offer to businesses (marketplaces, e-commerce, software solutions, etc.), allowing them to increase their income simply, quickly and economically.