The selfie/identity verification procedure is an essential part of Relay's onboarding compliance process. To ensure a seamless experience, we have compiled guidelines for capturing a high-quality photo and mitigating common errors. Read on to learn more about this process.
Why do you need to verify my identity?
Identity verification is a required compliance procedure to open a bank account; as such, our banking partner requires us to verify not only the businesses signing up for Relay accounts but the business owner(s) as well.
How do you verify my identity?
As Relay is a fully online banking solution, and we cannot verify your identity face-to-face in the same way that in-person bank branches can, the identity verification process is built into our registration flow and completed online. During this process, you will prompted to do the following:
- Take a photo of yourself (a selfie);
- Take a photo of your unexpired, government-issued photo ID (a U.S. driver's license or, if you are a non-U.S. citizen, a passport); and
- Follow a few on-screen prompts to complete a liveness check (such as turning your head, opening your mouth, etc.).
How you can ensure your selfie verification is approved
The identity verification process generally only takes a couple of minutes to complete, at most; however, here are some guidelines you can follow to ensure the process is as smooth as possible:
- Take clear and legible photos: when taking a photo of your ID, please ensure it is against a solid background to ensure clarity. For your selfie and ID photos, please avoid any blurriness, ensure the lighting is adequate, and confirm that all fields on your ID are easily readable.
- Include your full ID in the photo: when taking a photo of your ID, ensure all four corners of the ID are captured. This is crucial for us to successfully verify the ID. If capturing a photo of your passport, please ensure the full document is captured, and that the lower half of the document, where all the essential information is located, is readable.
- Submit a photo of your original ID, not a copy: please ensure that the ID photo provided is not a scanned copy or a photo of a photo/screenshot. We require the original ID for verification purposes.
- Check your ID's expiry date: verify that your ID has not expired before submission, as we are only able to accept unexpired government-issued IDs.
- Name matching: the name on your ID must match the name you provided on your application; if there is a mismatch, we won't be able to verify your identity. If you need to update the name you applied with, please reach out to our Customer Experience team.
- Accepted forms of identification: we accept either a U.S. driver's license or a passport as valid forms of identification. For more information about the required documents and forms of identification we accept, please see Required documents and information.
If you receive a message on your Relay dashboard that your identity verification was rejected, please contact our Customer Experience team to assist. Common reasons for rejection may include poor-quality photos being submitted, the use of an expired ID, or a name mismatch, among other reasons. Whatever the issue, our team can always help get it resolved.