<p>To increase the transaction limits on a MtGox account you need to submit a personal ID (passport or drivers license) and a utility bill (electricity/water/gas/phone) as a proof of address. It is explicitly  stated that a bank statement will not be accepted.</p>

<p>That makes it next to impossible for many people to use MtGox, because they do not have utility bills in their name (for example they live with friends or family, and the utility bill is in the name of the owner or official tenant). Also students living in dorms will not have utility bills. I think that more then half of the worlds population does not have utility bills in their name - usually several people live together in one building/flat, and the bills are only in the name of one of them, who is responsible for paying. It may not be possible just to change the name of the person on the bill, because of contract, liability, creditworthiness or many other reasons.</p>

<p>They also seem to accept a "residency certificate" instead of a utility bill, but also excludes many people, but that also excludes many people, as they can not and need not obtain such certificate, as their citizenship and/or passport alone allows them to stay in the country, either indefinitely (in their country of citizenship) or for a limited time (in other countries). </p>

<p>Why does MtGox not accept bank statements, which is an accepted form of verification for most, if not all other financial services, for example:</p>

<ul>
<li>Moneybookers</li>
<li>Currencyfair</li>
<li>Neteller</li>
</ul>

<p>All these services, and a countless number of others, accept a passport + bank statement for full account verification. That is a commonly accepted and fully sufficient for AML.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-15T03:48:18.697Z
@D.H. I would argue this is about Bitcoin. It's probably the fact that MtGox deals with bitcoins that it does not accept a bank statement as proof of address for verification. Voting to reopen.
Pacerier
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-09T08:09:07.850Z
How can this be more relevant now that MtGox has shut down?
John T
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-09T15:09:12.343Z
I agree, opening this with the scope remaining focussed on Mt. Gox doesn't make much sense right now. The question is also somewhat speculative, I'd say for example that a bank statement doesn't necessarily give your current address other than a utility bill. If it were changed to encompass any exchange it is a) still not really about Bitcoin b) might as well be a new question. I'd vote "Leave Closed", but will wait a bit longer to see any other reactions as my vote would be binding.
Murch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-11-25T17:22:51.387Z
Hmmm...this isn't Mt. Gox support, and they're the only ones who can answer this question.  Seems like just a complaint looking for an "amiright?"
eMansipater
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-11-26T22:25:42.393Z
It's not necessarily just MtGox that can answer the question. It can be seen as a more general question of "what would be the reason that a company does not accept bank statements as proof of address?". Still though, that's not really about Bitcoin so I'll close this as off-topic.
D.H.
<mtgox><verification>
Why MtGox does not accept a bank statement as proof of address for verification?
ria
# Why MtGox does not accept a bank statement as proof of address for verification?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-11-25)

To increase the transaction limits on a MtGox account you need to submit a personal ID (passport or drivers license) and a utility bill (electricity/water/gas/phone) as a proof of address. It is explicitly stated that a bank statement will not be accepted.

That makes it next to impossible for many people to use MtGox, because they do not have utility bills in their name (for example they live with friends or family, and the utility bill is in the name of the owner or official tenant). Also students living in dorms will not have utility bills. I think that more then half of the worlds population does not have utility bills in their name - usually several people live together in one building/flat, and the bills are only in the name of one of them, who is responsible for paying. It may not be possible just to change the name of the person on the bill, because of contract, liability, creditworthiness or many other reasons.

They also seem to accept a "residency certificate" instead of a utility bill, but also excludes many people, but that also excludes many people, as they can not and need not obtain such certificate, as their citizenship and/or passport alone allows them to stay in the country, either indefinitely (in their country of citizenship) or for a limited time (in other countries).

Why does MtGox not accept bank statements, which is an accepted form of verification for most, if not all other financial services, for example:

* Moneybookers
* Currencyfair
* Neteller

All these services, and a countless number of others, accept a passport + bank statement for full account verification. That is a commonly accepted and fully sufficient for AML.

**Tags:** mtgox, verification

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Hmmm...this isn't Mt. Gox support, and they're the only ones who can answer this question.  Seems like just a complaint looking for an "amiright?"  
> **username_5**: It's not necessarily just MtGox that can answer the question. It can be seen as a more general question of "what would be the reason that a company does not accept bank statements as proof of address?". Still though, that's not really about Bitcoin so I'll close this as off-topic.  
> **username_1**: @D.H. I would argue this is about Bitcoin. It's probably the fact that MtGox deals with bitcoins that it does not accept a bank statement as proof of address for verification. Voting to reopen.  
> **username_2**: How can this be more relevant now that MtGox has shut down?  
> **username_3**: I agree, opening this with the scope remaining focussed on Mt. Gox doesn't make much sense right now. The question is also somewhat speculative, I'd say for example that a bank statement doesn't necessarily give your current address other than a utility bill. If it were changed to encompass any exchange it is a) still not really about Bitcoin b) might as well be a new question. I'd vote "Leave Closed", but will wait a bit longer to see any other reactions as my vote would be binding.  

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## 0 answers

