At PayPal, we are constantly working to offer our customers the best payment experience.

As financial services providers, we are obliged to verify our customer's identities by confirming personal information (such as your name, address and date of birth) or company information. This is what we call our Customer Identification Process (CIP).

We will be making some enhancements to our Customer Identification Process for our individual customers. Through our new biometric identity verification process, we can use the latest technology to help protect you against identity theft and fraudulent activity quickly and efficiently.

What's facial biometric identity verification?

Biometric identity verification is a secure way of confirming your identity, used by many personal finance apps in Hong Kong.

What do I need to do?

You only need to complete biometric identity verification when prompted via email and in-account notification. If verification is required, you should follow the prompts from the Account Summary page.

To get started, you will need your Hong Kong ID card, a smartphone or tablet with a camera and the latest version of the PayPal mobile app downloaded on it. Log in to your PayPal account via the PayPal mobile app. Click the Notifications icon, and we'll guide you through the steps to verify your identity.

Do note you will not be able to use the PayPal Business app for this process.

What information will I need to provide to verify my biometric identity?

 During the verification process, you will be asked to check and submit some personal information such as your full name, date of birth, nationality and Hong Kong ID number.

How does it work?

You will be asked to take a few photos with your mobile device: one photo of the front and back of your Hong Kong ID card, and one photo of your face (a selfie) while blinking your eyes. Follow the prompts on the screen to take the best possible photos to help us verify your identity. We will then compare the scans to confirm your identity.

How long will it take to review my documents?

Digital verification should only take a few minutes. In some instances, a manual review may be required which can take up to seven days. We always strive to complete the verification process as quickly as possible.

What will happen if I don't confirm my identity?

We encourage you to complete the verification process as soon as you can, even if you've previously verified your identity with PayPal. We may temporarily limit some of the functions of your PayPal account until you successfully complete your identity verification.

We would outline the details of any applicable limitation in an email to you. In some cases, if the verification process is not completed after 30 days, further limitations may be applied to your PayPal account.

What if I've already completed the CIP process for my other PayPal account?

The CIP process completed for one account does not apply to another. If you have more than one PayPal account, you may be required to complete the CIP process for each PayPal account.