Is it really necessary to give your broker a copy of your passport, i hear its the only way you can withdraw money from them. Anyone know any brokers that are good and dont require this. plus500 need this, are they trustworthy? anyone had problems with them? im on demo seem good apart from lack of proper technical analysis.
Some broker need to be verified by asking our ids. Proof of address and etc. But some are not necessary for that. Just check their terms and regulations. Perhaps that can help you out.
Any reputable broker would need a scanned copy of an ID in order to open a trading account for you. It is a financial product, and any regulator would require the brokers to follow these procedures…
If a broker doesn’t request an ID, it means they are unregulated, and lax when it comes to compliance…
If they are lax about that , what else are they not too bothered about? (i.e. giving you your money back, treating you fairly, complaints etc.)
I would stay away from any broker not requiring to know who I am before accepting my money!
okay thanks
Hi Financial Wave Rider,
Andy is spot on with his comments. It’s important to make sure you are dealing with a company that’s subject to government regulation and preferably in one of the major financial centers such as the UK, the US or Australia. Your broker should be able to provide you with information regarding whether they are regulated and by whom. For example the regulating body in the UK is the Financial Services Authority (FSA). In the US, the regulator for forex trading is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In Australia, it’s the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Jason
Hello dear financial wave rider,
Any Broker that is Regulated requires verification of its clients so that they are able to comply with the requirements.
It really does not matter that a Broker need be regulated in UK, the US or Australia as these are not the only countries who issue and regulate Forex trading.
Though my broker is regulated with FSA UK, but this need not be a requirement for trading with the Broker.
I have dealt with so called regulated brokers only to see Slippage and high spreads, Re-quotes and poor customer service:(
Needless to say that a good broker is one who has satisfied clients as well as regulated by some Authority:)
I would argue that any broker with proper business practices would require client verification, not only regulated ones
Slippage and requotes are part and package of the FX world when dealing with Market or Instant Execution, there is actually nothing “wrong” with it (other than being annoying). Of course there are levels of acceptance.
High spreads: well on floating spreads it will depend on the spread from the LPs, and obviously if during news or during low liquidity. Again nothing “dodgy” anout it
Poor Customer Service: yeah, that is pretty much down to the company itself, however with a regulated broker at least you can go to an Ombudsman of some type [/QUOTE]
Yep, will agree with you on that one! 
Hello Andy,
Yes when the markets are volatile re-quotes happen but not always. And i have dealt with some big brokers who always give me re-quotes regardless of the market conditions.
I was looking for a Broker that allow me to trade as i want and i am glad i have found one
I personally don’t mind if a broker asks for my passport or driving license scans because in return I get security of my money.
However I’m almost sure that there’re some brokers (less secure) that don’t demand any documents from you.
Hello Fullhouse,
Well to be honest, if a broker does not ask for verification when dealing with you then it is clear that they do not know who their customer are, and in this case most probably they are not even regulated as well.
And when a large amount of money is to be withdrawn, you will usually see some or the other problem, like your trades were illegal or that you have used a trading strategy that they do not allow, when in fact you have just traded like an average forex trader does
So better be safe then sorry 
They don’t all want your passport, you can give them your drivers license as not everyone (me included) doesn’t own a passport. I did my vericiation with plus500 using my drivers license.
I think what they need is any ID issued by the government and drivers license would be one of them. 
Well the fact is that brokers need to verify the identity of the client. A broker that is reputed and regulated will always ask for the verification documents.
If your broker does not ask, then it is time to think about the safety of your funds invested with them