Before we tell you why we may ask you to complete a biometric ID check, let's cover off what it is.
What is a biometric check?
Biometric ID check is how we can identify you using your biological characteristics, such as from an image on your driver licence or passport. We use our partner service Cloudcheck to capture images of you and your ID. These images are then compared to make sure you’re the person on the ID. Finally, we check that the details on your ID match what you provided to us earlier. It sounds like a lot, but it only takes a minute or two for you.
Why do I need a biometric check?
There are two main reasons we might ask you to complete a biometric ID check:
To verify you are who you say you are before you deposit money with us, which is part of our Customer Due Diligence (CDD) process - which is something all financial companies are required to do
To ensure we are dealing with the real you before taking action on, or discussing your account
Pre-deposit checks
Before you can deposit money in your Hatch account and invest, we need to complete a couple of checks to make sure that:
The details you’ve provided us match government records
That you are who you say you are
Some industry lingo for these processes are: Know Your Customer (KYC) or Customer Due Diligence (CDD).
We collect the details of your ID (passport or driver licence) when you verify your account. We then need to confirm that you ‘own’ that ID - e.g. that someone’s not trying to pretend to be you.
To do this we usually ask you to make your first deposit from a bank account in your name. This means we can match the bank account name to the information you’ve given us. In some cases, however, this isn’t possible, so we’ll ask for a biometric check instead.
Scenarios where this may happen may be:
If you use BNZ for your first deposit: BNZ allows some customers to change the name on their bank account, as such our regulator has stipulated we cannot use BNZ account names for verification purposes
Name mismatch: If your bank account details show a name that doesn’t sufficiently match the name on your ID
What if I’m having problems with my biometric check?
If you’re having issues with the biometric check you can try:
Opening Hatch on your phone and doing the check there - phone cameras often work better
Try using a different photo ID (e.g. if your driver licence doesn’t work try your NZ Passport if you have one)
Putting your ID document on a flat, stable, surface when taking the picture - make sure it’s not blurry or obscured by any fingers
Taking the selfie and ID pictures in a well-lit place with a plain background
If you’ve tried everything above and you still can’t get through the process please contact our team and we’ll help get you sorted!
I’m already investing, why do I need to do a biometric now?
Hatch uses the name on the bank account your first deposit comes from to confirm you are who you say you are. An update to regulatory guidelines removed BNZ from the list of banks that we could use for this purpose. This means, for example, if you made your first deposit from a BNZ account we need to use a biometric ID check to confirm your identity and fulfil our regulatory obligations.