Guide KYC in affiliate marketing: what you are actually being asked for, and why

TL;DR: Verify at signup, not at payout. Make sure your name matches on every account. Get a second payout method verified before you need it. Never upload ID through a link you haven't confirmed with support.

This comes up every once in a while. Someone hits their first payout, gets asked for a passport and a utility bill, and assumes the network is stalling them.

Usually it isn't nefarious. They've just come up against KYC.

KYC is Know Your Customer. In this industry the term gets used loosely for identity checks, company checks, tax forms and sometimes the whole application process. Those are different things from different places, and the rules are not the same. Worth knowing which one you are dealing with.

Why does any of this exist? I just want my money.​

Well there are three reasons, roughly.

Anti money laundering rules​

Businesses paying affiliates are often required by their banks, payment providers, tax rules or compliance policies to verify who they are paying, and that rolls straight downhill onto you. The network is not being awkward, it is passing on a condition of keeping its own accounts open.

Tax reporting​

The EU has DAC7