P2P Bitcoin Exchange Paxful to Enforce Mandatory ID Verification in Most Asian Countries, Partners with Digital Bank

Peer to peer (P2P) Bitcoin exchange Paxful has confirmed that ID verification will soon become mandatory for many different countries beginning this month (December 2020).

Paxful claims it’s one of the few crypto-asset marketplaces that strictly enforce KYC (Know Your Customer) verification checks and procedures. ID verification is now required for citizens or  residents of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, mainland China, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the UAE, Vietnam (among others, full list available here).

It’s worth noting that completing AML/KYC checks on Paxful is quite challenging. In some cases, a legitimate user’s account becomes restricted or even suspended because the customer support team is unable to effectively or reliably determine the authenticity of their documents. Like many other large service providers, Paxful has now been struggling to cater to the large number of users that have started trading on its platform.

When Paxful first began offering crypto trading services, it only supported Bitcoin (BTC) trading. But now the P2P exchange also allows people to trade Tether (USDT), a leading stablecoin that’s supposedly backed with the US dollar and cash equivalents. Paxful has also been offering other trading options.

The Paxful team recently noted that they’ve introduced Carbon as one of their payment methods. This will allow users to apply for loans, make investments, view credit reports, and keep track of expenses.

As explained in the announcement:

“The partnership will allow Paxful users on the Carbon platform to make payments within the app, while Carbon customers can now dive into the cryptocurrency space and buy, sell, invest digital assets, or hedge their funds against inflation via the crypto on-ramp. Paxful [supports] over 300 payment options on the platform….”

Carbon is a digital bank that aims to offer access to more affordable and seamless financial services. It provides a zero-fee account, instant loans, free money transfers, savings and investments options at competitive rates. The platform has been designed to simplify payments like airtime and utility bill payments.

The Paxful team recently provided a detailed explanation on how to buy Bitcoin (BTC) in Pakistan, which has one of the world’s fastest-growing freelance worker communities.

According to the Paxful team:

“Pakistan is on its way to becoming a booming crypto market in the South Asian region. There’s so much potential to see an increasing rate of crypto adoption in the years ahead if the government remains in a good position regarding digital assets. Who knows? Pakistan might even become a blockchain and crypto hub in the future.”