The FxPro Identity Check

The two document types

The check rests on two document types: proof of identity and proof of address. Proof of identity is normally a passport or a government-issued photo licence, and it must show your full legal name, your date of birth and a photograph. Proof of address is a document issued in your name that shows your residential address, and it needs to be recent enough to satisfy the check. The exact documents accepted and the recency window are set by the broker, so confirm them in the client area rather than assuming.

The single rule that governs both is consistency. The name on the identity document, the name on the address document and the name on the application must match character for character, including middle names and hyphenation. The address on the address document must match the residential address you entered, not a postal address or a previous home. Most returns are not about the document being wrong in itself but about it disagreeing with something else in the file.

What sends a document back

Documents are returned most often for image quality: a photograph taken at an angle, a corner cut off, a glare across the text, or a scan too low in resolution to read the numbers. Photograph the document flat, in even light, with all four edges inside the frame and nothing obscuring the text. If the document has two sides, supply both, because a missing reverse side is a common and avoidable second attempt.

The other frequent cause is a document that does not do the job it was submitted for. A bank statement or utility bill works as proof of address only if it shows your name and your residential address together; a screenshot of an app balance does not. Expired identity documents will not pass, and a document in a name that differs from the account will not pass until the discrepancy is explained. Read the accepted-document list before uploading rather than after a rejection.

Why finish it before the first deposit

Finishing verification before the first deposit keeps the withdrawal path open from the start. An account can generally be funded before the check completes, but the money cannot come back out until it does, which turns a document problem into a delay on funds you have already committed. Doing the check first means the first withdrawal request is a routine step rather than a test of a file you have not yet proven.

There is a second reason: verification is also where the entity question becomes concrete. FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC. It does not hold an ASIC licence, so Australian residents deal with an offshore entity — check this before funding. Reading that while the account is still empty is a calmer decision than reading it with a position open, and it is the point at which you confirm which entity your client agreement names.

Once the check clears, note that deposits and withdrawals at FxPro are free of broker charges, though the payment route itself may impose its own costs. That distinction is the subject of the funding page, and it is easier to reason about once verification is behind you. Our pip value calculator is a useful thing to have open when you fund, so you know what a move on XAU/USD is worth in the balance you are about to deposit.

Why identity verification is required before you trade gold with an offshore broker

Identity verification exists because Australian anti-money-laundering law requires financial services providers to identify clients before opening an account, and offshore brokers apply equivalent rules under their own licences. FxPro UK Limited, the entity serving Australian residents, is licensed by the FCA in the UK and by CySEC, so it must collect and check identity documents even though it does not hold an ASIC licence. The check is not a formality invented by the broker; it is a legal precondition to holding client money and executing trades.

The law requires the broker to know who is behind every account, where the money came from, and whether the client is acting for themselves. That is why you are asked for a photo identity document and a proof of address, and why the suitability questionnaire and source-of-funds questions sit alongside them. For gold (XAU/USD) at 1 lot = 100 oz, a position at the reference price of 4275.0 represents a large notional exposure, which is precisely the kind of activity AML rules are designed to see clearly.

Because FxPro does not hold an ASIC licence, the verification you complete is assessed under UK and EU-style rules rather than Australian ones, and the regulator caveat applies: FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, so Australian residents deal with an offshore entity and should check this before funding. Completing verification before you deposit means the account is ready to trade when you are, and it keeps your first PayID or bank transfer from being held while checks are still open.

Document mistakes that get a verification submission rejected

The most common rejection cause is a document that is valid but unreadable, because the broker's checker needs all four corners, the photo, the document number and the expiry date in one clear image. Glare from a laminated card, a shadow across the address line, or a photo taken at an angle so the text distorts will fail even when the document itself is genuine. Scan or photograph flat, in even light, and check the result at full size before uploading.

A second frequent mistake is a name mismatch between the identity document and the account application, including middle names omitted, hyphens dropped, or a maiden name on one document and a married name on another. The broker matches the name on the document to the name on the account and to the name on the funding method, so any difference needs to be explained rather than left for the checker to guess. Use the name exactly as it appears on the identity document when you register.

Expired documents and documents that do not show the required fields are rejected outright, and so are screenshots of digital documents where the broker asked for the original file. For proof of address, a document older than the broker's recency window will be sent back even if everything on it is correct. Upload the original PDF or a clean photograph, not a forwarded email or a cropped image, and submit both documents together so the check can run once rather than in stages.

What happens to a deposit made before verification is approved

A deposit made before approval is received and held, but the account remains restricted until verification is complete, so you cannot trade the balance or withdraw it in the meantime. The money is not lost; it sits in the client money account while the checks finish. The practical effect is that your first PayID or bank transfer arrives, the balance shows in the account, and the trading and withdrawal functions stay locked until the documents are approved.

How long the hold lasts depends on how quickly the documents are accepted and whether the broker needs to ask follow-up questions, so the timeline is set by the quality of your submission rather than by the deposit itself. A clean submission with a readable identity document and a recent proof of address clears in one pass; a submission with a name mismatch or an unreadable scan will generate a query and extend the hold. There is no separate fee for the hold, but your funds are idle while it lasts.

The way to avoid the situation is to finish verification before the first deposit, which is why the sequence matters more than the amount. If a deposit is already sitting in a restricted account, the fastest route is to upload the outstanding document immediately and respond to any query in full. Do not send a second deposit to try to unlock the first; additional funding does not speed up a verification decision and only adds to the balance that is waiting.

The suitability questionnaire and what your answers actually change

The suitability questionnaire is an assessment of whether the products you are applying for are appropriate for your knowledge and experience, and your answers determine whether the broker offers you the full product set or a restricted one. It typically asks about your trading history, the instruments you have used, your understanding of leverage and margin, and your financial circumstances. The answers do not change the price of a trade; they change what you are permitted to trade and what warnings you see.

For gold (XAU/USD), the questionnaire matters because the instrument is traded on margin and a 1-lot position is 100 oz, so a small price move produces a large change in account equity. If your answers indicate limited experience with leveraged products, the broker may restrict access to higher-risk configurations or require you to acknowledge specific risk warnings before proceeding. Answer honestly: an answer designed to unlock a setting you do not understand does not change the risk of the position, only your exposure to it.

The answers also feed the broker's record of why the product was deemed appropriate, which is part of its regulatory obligation. If your circumstances change, you can ask to update the questionnaire, and the broker may re-run the assessment. The questionnaire is not a pass or fail exam and it does not set your leverage; leverage is capped at up to 1:200 for Australian residents, and that cap is a ceiling rather than a target to aim at.

Proof of address accepted for Australian residents and how recent it must be

For an Australian resident, the accepted proof of address is a document issued by a bank, utility provider or government authority that shows your full name and residential address, such as a bank statement, a rates notice or a utility bill. The document must be recent, because the broker is verifying where you live now rather than where you lived previously; the exact recency window is set by the broker and is typically measured in months, so check the current requirement in the upload screen before you submit.

The document must show the same name and the same address as the account application, and it must be a full document rather than a cropped section. A bank statement is often the simplest option because it is issued regularly and carries both the name and the address, and it can be downloaded as an original PDF from online banking. A PayID record or a transfer receipt is not a proof of address; it evidences a payment, not a residential address.

If you have recently moved, the document must reflect the new address, which may mean waiting for the next statement cycle or requesting a document from the provider that shows the updated details. A mobile phone bill in some formats is accepted and in others is not, so rely on the broker's current list rather than on what worked elsewhere. Submit the document as an original file, in colour, with all pages, and keep it within the recency window at the time of upload.

When the name on your identity document differs from the name on your card

When the name on the identity document differs from the name on the card used to fund the account, the broker treats it as a third-party funding signal and will usually hold the deposit until the discrepancy is explained. The rule behind this is that the account holder, the identity document and the funding source should be the same person, because a payment from a card in another name can indicate that someone else is moving money through the account.

The usual explanation is a name change, such as a marriage or a deed poll, and the way to resolve it is to provide the document that links the two names, for example a marriage certificate or a change-of-name certificate, alongside the identity document. A card in a maiden name with an identity document in a married name is a common and resolvable case; a card in a genuinely different person's name is not, and the broker may return the deposit to the source rather than accept it.

The cleanest approach is to fund from an account or card in your own name, and to update your identity document with the broker if your name has changed before you deposit. If a mismatch has already occurred, contact the broker with the linking document rather than sending another payment. Do not ask a family member to fund the account on your behalf to work around a name difference; that creates a third-party funding issue that is harder to clear than the original mismatch.

checked 2026-09-29 · FxScouts, SafeForex, FxPro