1. Introduction

The purpose of KYC is to confirm that each customer is who they claim to be, using reliable documents and information. The purpose of AML, including countering the financing of terrorism, is to prevent the platform from being used to disguise the origin of criminal funds. Together they protect honest users: identity checks stop account takeover and impersonation, and activity monitoring keeps the platform a place where ordinary trading, not dirty money, is the business. Verification happens before an account can trade or withdraw, which is a deliberate sequencing, not an inconvenience.

2. What KYC is

KYC is the process of identifying a customer and confirming the truth of the data they provide. In practice this means collecting your legal name, date of birth, address and contact details, then checking them against documents issued by trusted authorities. KYC is not a one-off event: details are refreshed when documents expire, when significant account changes occur, or when something in the account's behaviour calls for a second look. Confirmation of your data happens through document review, database checks and, where used, a live selfie comparison, described below.

3. What AML is

AML is the set of measures a platform takes to prevent, detect and report money laundering: assessing the risk each customer and transaction pattern presents, monitoring activity for signs consistent with laundering, and escalating genuinely suspicious cases. Risk assessment considers factors such as the customer's profile, the sources of funds, the size and pattern of transactions, and the geographies involved. Monitoring is continuous and automated, with human review of anything the systems flag. Where activity raises suspicion that cannot be resolved, the law may require reporting to the competent Nigerian authority, and such reporting, when required, is not something we announce to the customer concerned.

4. Why identity verification is required

Verification serves four concrete purposes. It prevents fraud by ensuring one person cannot open accounts in other people's names. It protects accounts by tying each one to a real, provable identity that support can check during recovery. It meets applicable requirements, since Nigerian anti-money-laundering rules expect customer due diligence from platforms in this sector. And it lowers financial risk for everyone, because clean, verified accounts are harder to abuse as pass-through points for stolen funds. A platform that asks no questions is not easier to use; it is easier to abuse.

5. Documents we ask for

For identity: a valid government-issued photo document, most commonly a Nigerian national identity card, NIN slip, international passport or driver's licence. For address: a utility bill, bank statement or tenancy agreement in your name, dated within the last three months. Where a session requires liveness confirmation, a short selfie taken in the app is compared against your document photograph; we use biometric comparison for this check only and do not build a biometric profile of your face. We ask only for documents we actually use; if a page or email ever requests something outside this list, it is not from us.

6. The verification process, step by step

Step one: register your account with basic details. Step two: upload your document images and, where requested, the selfie. Step three: automatic checks verify document authenticity, expiry, data consistency and selfie match; most users pass at this stage within minutes. Step four: cases the automated layer cannot resolve go to manual review by the compliance desk, for example where document quality is poor or names differ across documents for legitimate reasons. Step five: you receive the result by email, and a verified account unlocks trading and withdrawals. You can watch the stage your case is at from the dashboard at any time.

7. Enhanced due diligence

Some situations call for enhanced due diligence: higher-risk profiles, unusually large first deposits, complex ownership behind a corporate account, or activity patterns that are legitimate but unusual. Enhanced review can request the source of funds, such as a salary letter, sale contract or business records, and occasionally the source of wealth behind those funds. This is not an accusation; it is the deeper look that larger flows reasonably attract. Accounts under enhanced review can usually continue operating while the review completes, unless the applicable rules require a pause.

8. How long verification takes

Most verifications complete automatically within minutes of a clear upload. Manual review, where needed, normally finishes within one business day and no more than three, and depends mainly on document quality and how quickly any follow-up questions are answered. Delays concentrate in three places: blurred or cropped images, documents near expiry, and name mismatches between documents and bank details. Uploading sharp, complete images with all four corners visible removes most waiting time before it exists.

9. Reasons a verification can be refused

A submission can be rejected or paused for: expired or soon-to-expire documents; unreadable images; data that does not match across documents; suspicion of forgery or use of another person's identity; failure to provide requested follow-up information within the stated window; or an applicant appearing on applicable sanctions lists. A rejection always states which document failed and why, and most can be fixed by uploading a corrected version. Repeated deliberate submission of false identity information closes the account and can require reporting under applicable Nigerian requirements.

10. Transaction monitoring

Deposits, withdrawals, transfers and trading patterns are monitored against the expected behaviour indicated by your profile. The monitoring looks for patterns such as rapid pass-through of funds, structuring of amounts just below thresholds, sudden unexplained changes in volume, and interactions with high-risk sources. Where monitoring flags activity, possible outcomes range from no action, through a request for information, to limiting specific account functions while the review completes. Function limits are preventive, not punitive, and are lifted when the review concludes in your favour.

11. Your responsibilities as a user

You are responsible for providing accurate, current and genuine information, and for updating it when it changes: a new surname, a new address, a new primary bank account. You must not operate an account in another person's name, and you must not use the platform to move funds that are not lawfully yours. Providing false information can lead to suspension, termination of the account, forfeiture of pending transactions where the law requires it, and reporting to the competent authorities. If you notice an error in your verified details, telling us early is always the cheaper path.

12. Storage and protection of verification data

Identity documents and verification records are stored encrypted, access is restricted to the compliance roles that need it, and every access is logged. Retention follows the periods required by applicable Nigerian requirements, keeping records for the statutory period after the relationship ends even when the account itself is closed. The full data handling rules, including retention periods by category and your rights over the data, are set out in the Privacy Policy, which this page does not repeat or replace.

13. Who receives your verification data

To run verification, data is shared with: identity verification providers that check documents against issuing-authority and fraud databases; IT providers hosting the encrypted storage; affiliated companies involved in providing the service; and regulators and competent authorities where disclosure is required by applicable law. Each category receives only the minimum needed for its role, under contractual confidentiality, and none of them receive your trading history where their function is document checking. The current list of categories is maintained in the Privacy Policy.

14. The requirements we comply with

Naija AI complies with applicable Nigerian requirements governing customer due diligence, record keeping and suspicious activity reporting for platforms operating in this sector, within the regulatory framework described on the Licensing & regulation page. Where a service provider sits in another jurisdiction, the provider's local requirements apply to that provider's activity, and our contracts require at least equivalent protection. This page states our compliance approach; it does not assert any specific registration status beyond what the Licenses page confirms on request.

15. Contact for KYC and AML questions

For any question about verification, document requirements, a pending review or this policy, write to [email protected] with "KYC" in the subject line. The compliance desk answers during support hours, Monday to Friday, 8:00–17:00 WAT, and every case receives a specific answer, not a template, within one business day. If your verification is stuck and a deadline matters to you, say so in the first message; the desk prioritises by consequence, not by who shouts.