The FxPro Identity Check

What passes first time

A document passes first time when it is in date, shows all four corners, and carries the same name as your application. For identity that means a government-issued photo document where the photo, the full name and the expiry date are all legible in one image. A photograph taken flat on a table under good light, with no glare and no cropped edges, clears more often than a scan run through a filter.

For address, the document has to show your name and your residential address as you entered them, and it has to be recent enough to be accepted as current. The name on it must match the application exactly, so a document in a spouse's name will not serve. If your name appears differently on the address document than on your ID, sort that out before you upload rather than after.

The one rule that covers all of it: the file you send should look like the document, not like a picture of a document. Full frame, readable text, no shadow across the number, and nothing obscured.

What sends one back

The most common return is a cropped or glare-hit image where a corner, a number or an expiry date is missing. The second is an expired document, which is rejected regardless of how clear the photograph is. The third is a name mismatch, usually a missing middle name or a different spelling between the ID and the application.

A fourth cause is a document that does not actually prove address, such as a document showing a postal box rather than a residential address, or one in another person's name. Sending several weak documents in place of one strong one does not help; it slows the review rather than speeding it up.

When something is sent back, fix exactly what was flagged and resubmit that item. Resending the whole set with the same weak document included simply repeats the failure. Keep a copy of everything you upload, so a second attempt uses the same clean files rather than a fresh, worse photograph.

Why finish it before the first deposit

Complete verification before you send money, because an unverified account cannot be relied on for withdrawals. Depositing first means your funds sit in an account you cannot yet draw from, and any problem with the documents becomes urgent rather than routine. Finishing the check first turns the deposit into a straightforward step.

There is a second reason. The bank or mobile money account you will withdraw to is normally expected to be in your own name, matching the verified identity. Getting the identity confirmed first makes it obvious whether the M-Pesa number or bank details you plan to use line up with the account holder.

Once verification clears, you can size your first gold trade with real numbers rather than guesses. Run the margin figure through our margin calculator and the per-pip value through our pip value calculator before you deposit, so the amount you fund is the amount your plan actually needs.

Why the identity check exists and the law that requires it

The check exists because FxPro must know who it is opening an account for before it handles money, and that duty comes from anti-money-laundering law, not from the broker's preference. FxPro operates under FCA (UK), CySEC and FSCA licensing, and each of those regimes imposes customer due-due-diligence obligations that travel with the entity serving Kenya. The CMA of Kenya does not license FxPro, so the rulebook being applied is the one attached to the entity that serves this country. Verification is therefore a legal precondition to the relationship, and no support agent can waive it for you.

Customer due diligence is the formal name for the process: establish identity, establish address, understand what the account will be used for, and keep evidence on file. Under the licensing regimes FxPro answers to, the firm must hold that evidence before the account becomes active and must be able to show it to a supervisor on request. That is why a document that is merely readable is not automatically enough; it has to match the person, match the address and still be valid on the day it is reviewed. Missing paperwork is treated as a compliance gap, not a customer-service delay.

The practical consequence for a Kenyan trader is that verification sits on the critical path to funding, not beside it. Until identity and address are established, the account cannot be treated as fully onboarded, and the broker's ability to accept and hold your money is constrained. Treat the upload as part of opening the account rather than an afterthought once you have decided to trade gold. The same file then supports later reviews, which is why getting the details right the first time saves repeat requests months down the line.

The document mistakes that get a Kenyan application rejected

Most rejections come from image quality and framing rather than from the document itself being wrong. A photograph taken at an angle, a corner folded over, a flash washing out the photo page, or a scan cropped so the machine-readable strip at the bottom disappears will all be sent back even when the ID is genuine. The reviewer needs all four edges visible, the text sharp, and no glare across the face or the number. A flat, well-lit scan or a straight-on photograph in daylight clears this hurdle far more reliably than a hurried phone snap of a document lying on a table.

Expired documents are the second common cause. An ID card, passport or residence permit that has passed its expiry date cannot support a live application, and a document expiring within weeks invites a fresh request almost immediately. The third cause is mismatch: the name typed into the application must appear on the document in the same order and spelling, including middle names and any hyphenation. A short form where the document carries the full name, or a married name on the card against a maiden name in the form, will trigger a manual query. Consistent details across every upload prevent that.

Address evidence fails for its own reasons. A document that shows a different address from the one entered, a bill in someone else's name at the same address, or a statement that is simply too old will all be refused. Blurred utility statements and screenshots of a mobile app balance are also routinely rejected because they do not show a name, an address and a date together. Send the clearest original document you hold, keep the whole page in frame, and make sure the address on it is the address you typed into the account before you press upload.

What happens to a deposit sent before the account is approved

A deposit made before approval is not lost, but it is not usable either. The money lands against your account reference and sits there while the file is incomplete, and trading remains blocked until verification clears. The exact handling depends on the broker's internal process and on how the funds arrived, which is why the safe approach is to complete the upload before sending anything through M-Pesa. Sending first and verifying later buys you no time, because the account cannot be activated any faster for having a balance on it.

The practical risk is timing and traceability, not theft. A deposit that arrives while a query is open can take longer to reconcile, and if the name on the payment does not match the account holder the funds may need to be returned to source rather than credited. That return can involve the sending channel and its own processing time. Keeping the payment reference and the confirmation message helps the support team match the money to your account, but it does not remove the requirement to verify. Verify, then fund, is the order that avoids the whole problem.

There is also a conduct point worth knowing. A broker that lets an unverified account trade would be breaching the due-diligence rules it operates under, so a blocked deposit is a sign the controls are working rather than a fault to argue about. If you have already sent funds, contact support with the transaction details and complete the outstanding documents in the same session. Do not send a second deposit to try to unblock the first; that only creates two items to reconcile instead of one.

The suitability questionnaire and what your answers actually change

The suitability questionnaire is where the broker records what you understand about leveraged products and what you can afford to lose, and your answers determine whether the account is opened on standard terms, opened with restrictions, or not opened at all. It is not a formality to click through. Answers that show no relevant experience and no capacity to absorb losses can lead the firm to warn you formally, limit what you can access, or decline the application. The purpose is to stop leveraged gold trading being sold to people for whom the risk is unsuitable, which is a supervisory expectation under the licensing regimes FxPro holds.

What changes in practice is the risk framing around your account rather than the price of anything. A profile that reflects genuine experience with volatile instruments and a stated tolerance for loss supports a normal retail account. A profile that contradicts itself, such as claiming extensive experience while also stating that any loss would be unaffordable, invites a follow-up question and possibly a restriction. Answer consistently and honestly; the questionnaire is designed to catch inconsistency, and a mismatch between what you claim and how you behave on the platform can trigger a review later.

For gold specifically the answers matter because XAU/USD moves fast and 1 standard lot is 100 oz, so a small price move is a large money move. At the leverage cap that applies to the entity serving Kenya, a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin, which illustrates how modest the deposit can look against the exposure it controls. If your questionnaire answers say you cannot absorb a loss of that scale, the honest answer is the one to give. Overstating experience to unlock access is the single most common way traders create a problem for themselves at the suitability stage.

Proof of address accepted in Kenya and how recent it must be

Proof of address must be an original document that shows your full name, your residential address and a date, and it must be recent enough to reflect where you live now. The exact age limit depends on the broker's current requirement, so check the figure shown in the upload screen rather than relying on a remembered rule; documents that are too old are a standard rejection reason. Utility bills, bank statements and official correspondence are the kinds of documents used for this purpose. The test is whether a reviewer can see the three elements, name, address and date, clearly on one page.

In Kenya the documents most often accepted are electricity and water bills, fixed-line or broadband bills, and bank statements delivered to a residential address. Mobile-money statements can be problematic because they frequently show a phone number rather than a street address, so they are a weak choice for this specific purpose. A document addressed to a post office box may also be questioned, since the requirement is a residential address. If your name is not on the household bill, a bank statement in your own name sent to that address is usually the cleaner route.

The document must match the address you entered in the application, character for character in substance. A bill showing a plot number where the form shows a street name, or an estate name that differs from the one you typed, will be queried even though both refer to the same home. Keep the full page in frame including the header and the date, and avoid sending a partial screenshot of an online statement. If you have recently moved, send a document dated after the move; a pre-move bill plus a new address in the form is one of the most common mismatches seen at review.

When the name on the document differs from the name on the payment

A mismatch between the account holder's name and the name on the payment is treated as a third-party funding issue, and the usual outcome is that the deposit is held or returned to source rather than credited. M-Pesa payments carry the name registered to the mobile-money account, so if that name differs from the verified name on your trading account, the funds cannot simply be applied. The fix is to pay from a channel registered in your own verified name, and to have the name on your ID, your application and your payment method agree before you send anything.

Where the difference is genuine and documented, such as a married name, a shortened name or a spelling variant, the resolution is to align the records rather than to argue the payment through. Send the supporting document that bridges the two names, for example a marriage certificate or an official change-of-name record, and ask support to update the account record so the verified name matches the payment source. Once the records agree, the payment can be reconciled normally. Trying to credit a payment from a relative or friend's M-Pesa account is a different matter and is generally not permitted.

The reason this is policed strictly is that third-party funding is a recognised money-laundering route, and the licensing regimes FxPro operates under require the firm to know whose money it is holding. A payment from someone else's mobile-money account breaks the audit trail between the customer and the funds. If you are funding a joint household effort, the account and the payment still need to be in the name of the verified holder. Plan the funding around that constraint rather than discovering it after the money has left.