4 ms·

A bank that lets you open accounts in a matter of minutes without background checks or personal ID. What could possibly go wrong.

mikeash 8y ago
Is that weird? I’ve opened savings accounts from traditional banks that way
- jessaustin 8y ago
  It seems the main thing that banks want for an account is money.
- neltnerb 8y ago
  They get ID sufficient to prove the identify of the person opening the account and for banks to report suspicious deposits. Every account I've opened in the last two decades has scanned or made a copy of my ID and required my social security number. The US is my only experience with opening bank accounts though. I'm pretty sure it is required to provide ID to open a traditional bank account.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    I’ve definitely opened several US bank accounts without visiting in person or sending a scan of my ID. They do attempt to verify your identity through other means, like asking about stuff from your credit report.
    - mrsteveman1 8y ago
      Same here, and I think it's a better way to handle it. If the person opening the account is physically standing in the bank lobby, showing ID is strong evidence they are who they say they are. But accepting a scanned copy of an ID online is in many ways more risky than alternative verification methods, it only tells you that the person had access to a picture of an ID. It's assumed that would be difficult if they weren't who they say they are, but that's not a reasonable assumption and banks clearly know that. I wouldn't be surprised if identity thieves have access to real scans of IDs at this point. A lot of online services have been asking people to scan and upload them for things like "verifying" your Twitter or Facebook account, so people may not be as cautious about doing that as they should be.
      - mikeash 8y ago
        It has to be trivial to photoshop an ID scan, too. None of the fancy anti-forgery measures they have would help.
- gruez 8y ago
  if you provided them information like name/birthdate/address, it's possible that they verified your identity with the credit reporting agencies.
- ddebernardy 8y ago
  That must have been a long time ago. Insofar as I've experienced it while changing countries, rules have been tightened quite a bit in Europe and North America in the aftermaths of 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    I semi-regularly shop around for the best interest rate on a savings account and open one if I see one that’s sufficiently better. I’ve never had to visit one in person, and don’t believe I’ve ever had to send a scan of my ID. For a concrete example, I opened a savings account with Capital One 360 about a year ago. I did it at home from the comfort of my computer and it took me just a few minutes.
ian0 8y ago
Surely you have to run the "Verify my identity" process before using the account?
- seszett 8y ago
  As far as I remember, but I signed up a few years ago, I had to got through video chat and show my id (moving it into the light to make the security features shine, etc) there. I'm not sure how efficient it is, but it's not as bad as your parent implies. It was about the same procedure as for N26. Orange Bank on the other hand just asks for scans.
orf 8y ago
They verify your liveness and identity documents while opening an account. Disclaimer: I work for the company that provides this service to revolut. Side note: It's actually surprisingly difficult to verify that a document isn't fraudulent, and traditional in-person banks that accept documents in person are more susceptible to fraud than you might think. Is the average account exec trained as a border control agent? Do they read the MRZ lines?
- codemusings 8y ago
  From their website (unfortunately in German): Keine Bonitätsprüfung, kein Adressnachweis. Which translates to: "No check of credit worthiness, no ID verification". So either it's different in some countries or it's false advertising. Either way. Banks are the one thing I'm scared of getting the Silicon Valley treatment.

mikeash 8y ago

Is that weird? I’ve opened savings accounts from traditional banks that way

jessaustin 8y ago
It seems the main thing that banks want for an account is money.
neltnerb 8y ago
They get ID sufficient to prove the identify of the person opening the account and for banks to report suspicious deposits. Every account I've opened in the last two decades has scanned or made a copy of my ID and required my social security number. The US is my only experience with opening bank accounts though. I'm pretty sure it is required to provide ID to open a traditional bank account.
- mikeash 8y ago
  I’ve definitely opened several US bank accounts without visiting in person or sending a scan of my ID. They do attempt to verify your identity through other means, like asking about stuff from your credit report.
  - mrsteveman1 8y ago
    Same here, and I think it's a better way to handle it. If the person opening the account is physically standing in the bank lobby, showing ID is strong evidence they are who they say they are. But accepting a scanned copy of an ID online is in many ways more risky than alternative verification methods, it only tells you that the person had access to a picture of an ID. It's assumed that would be difficult if they weren't who they say they are, but that's not a reasonable assumption and banks clearly know that. I wouldn't be surprised if identity thieves have access to real scans of IDs at this point. A lot of online services have been asking people to scan and upload them for things like "verifying" your Twitter or Facebook account, so people may not be as cautious about doing that as they should be.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      It has to be trivial to photoshop an ID scan, too. None of the fancy anti-forgery measures they have would help.
gruez 8y ago
if you provided them information like name/birthdate/address, it's possible that they verified your identity with the credit reporting agencies.
ddebernardy 8y ago
That must have been a long time ago. Insofar as I've experienced it while changing countries, rules have been tightened quite a bit in Europe and North America in the aftermaths of 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis.
- mikeash 8y ago
  I semi-regularly shop around for the best interest rate on a savings account and open one if I see one that’s sufficiently better. I’ve never had to visit one in person, and don’t believe I’ve ever had to send a scan of my ID. For a concrete example, I opened a savings account with Capital One 360 about a year ago. I did it at home from the comfort of my computer and it took me just a few minutes.

ian0 8y ago

Surely you have to run the "Verify my identity" process before using the account?

seszett 8y ago
As far as I remember, but I signed up a few years ago, I had to got through video chat and show my id (moving it into the light to make the security features shine, etc) there. I'm not sure how efficient it is, but it's not as bad as your parent implies. It was about the same procedure as for N26. Orange Bank on the other hand just asks for scans.

orf 8y ago

They verify your liveness and identity documents while opening an account. Disclaimer: I work for the company that provides this service to revolut. Side note: It's actually surprisingly difficult to verify that a document isn't fraudulent, and traditional in-person banks that accept documents in person are more susceptible to fraud than you might think. Is the average account exec trained as a border control agent? Do they read the MRZ lines?

codemusings 8y ago
From their website (unfortunately in German): Keine Bonitätsprüfung, kein Adressnachweis. Which translates to: "No check of credit worthiness, no ID verification". So either it's different in some countries or it's false advertising. Either way. Banks are the one thing I'm scared of getting the Silicon Valley treatment.