What is KYC?
KYC is short for Know Your Customer.
It is a requirement in the heavily regulated financial sector (such as banks, payment institutions, securities and also for virtual assets) to identify a client and then to verify the identity of the client.
Many governments have already imposed KYC on the crypto industry and are requiring that crypto exchanges and other service providers enforce the KYC process for their clients.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to go through the KYC process to use Xumm?
No. It is entirely optional. Xumm is a self-custodial wallet and our services are not yet regulated. However, countries and their national supervisors are working together in the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) to introduce more obligations around virtual assets and virtual asset service providers in order to identify bad actors/people that use crypto for illegal purposes. Therefore, in time, KYC is expected to become more common/required.
Why would I want to go through the KYC process if it's optional?
Many people feel that going through the KYC process is a way of adding legitimacy to their XRP Ledger account. At Xumm, we work together with professional partners to be able to properly identify and verify the identity of a person. In many countries, people prefer to know who they are dealing with financial transactions.
Which documents can I use to go through the KYC process?
The KYC process requires that you have an official government issued document to help identify who you are. For most countries, this means:
A valid driver's license
A valid ID card
A valid residence permit
For a current list of supported documents, please refer to this link:
What about Xumm Pro (Beta)?
When you subscribe to Xumm Pro (Beta), you will have the option to go through the KYC process, however, only those who go through KYC will be able to access to the Pro Bea features like a Profiles, PayString, uploading your avatar and showing your real name when sending payment requests.
Because we only want to support trustworthy profiles & to prevent imposters, your avatar & display name will be compared to your KYC government ID information. This way, everybody in the ecosystem will be able to trust other users and their profiles, names, avatars, if they have a Pro Beta subscription.
How to subscribe to Xumm Pro Beta 🎉
Will Xumm disclose my identity if I go through the KYC process?
Xumm does not disclose personal information to third parties, unless it is necessary due to legal obligations. We work together with industry experts to fulfil our commitment in building and maintaining a safe XRP ecosystem. In our privacy statement, you will find the personal data we process and the grounds for processing.
Can I go through the KYC process using a "read only" account in Xumm?
Since anyone can import an XRPL account into Xumm as "read only", there is no way for us to verify that you own the account unless your have full signing access to it. (This is also why you can not go through the KYC process on an account that has been blackholed.) The idea behind KYC is to verify your identity and associate this verification with an XRP Ledger account that you own. In order to do that, you need to have "full access" to your XRPL account. This means that you know the secret keys for your account and you have imported them into Xumm.
How do I go through the KYC process?
In Xumm Pro Beta, simply click on the Open KYC xApp and follow the instructions on the screen.
I went through the KYC process in Pro but I can't see it in Xumm.
Xumm does not currently have a place to verify that you went through the KYC process. (We assume that you already know that you completed it so there is no reason to display it. )
...but just in case, here are a couple of ways to check:
You can visit this site: https://bithomp.com/ then enter your r-address and look for: Xumm: verified √
The only way to get "Xumm verified" to be displayed in Bithomp or XRPScan is to go through the KYC process via Xumm Pro.
Do I have to go through the KYC process to get an airdrop?
That depends on the airdrop. Some projects on the XRPL require that you go through the KYC process in order to participate. Normally, the project would provide the means to do this.
You've mentioned Xumm Pro (beta) a couple of times, where do I learn more about it?
We are super excited about the release of Xumm Pro Beta! 🎉.
You can learn all about it here:
How to subscribe to Xumm Pro Beta 🎉
