Verify your identity

In this article:

Overview

When you open a Wealthsimple account, we verify your identity to comply with FINTRAC identity verification rules and industry best practices. We first attempt to verify your identity automatically through a 'soft credit check' with a credit reporting agency. This check helps us confirm your personal information and ensure it matches our records. This doesn't allow us to check your credit score. 

Using a selfie and government-issued photo ID

FINTRAC outlines various methods for identity verification, including the selfie process we use at Wealthsimple. 

In this process, we ask you to

  • take a photo of your government-issued photo ID and then
  • take a photo of yourself.

You can see an example of what this would look like below: 

a mobile screen with the ID options available to verify your identity

Tip: If you're verifying your identity on desktop, you will have the option to Continue on phone or upload a photo.
  • Continue on phone: You will first be prompted to scan a QR code with your phone. Once you have done this, you will be prompted to take a photo. 
  • Upload a photo: You can upload an existing photo directly from your computer files.

Acceptable ID types

We accept the following forms of government-issued photo identification:

  • Driver’s license from any Canadian province/territory
  • Canadian passport
  • Canadian permanent residence card
  • Provincial photo-ID card
  • Health card (only for BC and QC)

If you don’t have one of these, tap I don’t have these documents to upload alternative documents. You can also reach out to our support team for further assistance.

Tip: For us to accept your photo identification, it must meet the following requirements:
  • It can't be expired
  • It must include your full legal name as specified on your Wealthsimple profile
  • It can't be altered in any way (including stickers placed on the front or back)
  • It must be clearly legible, with no obscuring glare
  • All four corners of the document must be visible

Manual verification

If we can't automatically verify your identity, we'll ask you to submit a selfie and a photo of your government-issued ID. This is often necessary if:

  • There's a mismatch between the details we have on file and those provided by the credit reporting agency.
  • Your credit history is too short.
  • You don't have a file with the credit reporting agency.
Note: For certain actions, like crypto withdrawals, we require comprehensive ID verification, and manual verification isn't applicable.

Frequently asked questions

Is this process secure? 

Your safety is our top priority. We leverage a secure, third-party service, Persona, to collect and review the documents you upload along with your selfie. Persona then automatically deletes your information after 90 days.

For record-keeping purposes, we keep your documents on file to assist with any future information changes you may need to make. We also have to keep some information as a minimum to comply with our regulatory obligations.

I’m having trouble verifying my identity, what can I do?

If you are having trouble verifying your identity using the selfie method, double-check that:

  • Your app is completely up-to-date
  • Your ID is not expired. We are unable to accept an expired ID
  • All four corners of your ID are visible in the photo you submit
  • There is no glare in the picture of your ID
Note: If you don't have any of the document types visible on the first screen, you have the option to select I don’t have these documents. We'll ask you to provide 3 alternative document types which we can use in conjunction to verify your identity.

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