Verification
What the identity check needs, how long it takes, and how to pass it first time.
Cards are issued by a licensed partner, and issuing a card to a real person requires verifying that person once. This page covers what is collected, what happens to it, and the small set of things that cause rejections.
What you will need
- Your legal name, date of birth and nationality, exactly as your document shows them.
- One identity document: passport, driving licence or national ID card. Licence and ID card need both sides photographed; a passport needs the photo page.
- A fresh photo of you holding the document.
- Your address and phone number. One phone number per member; a number already used by another Greenwood member will not be accepted.
- United States persons also provide a Social Security number, whichever document they verify with. That is a requirement from the card issuer, not a choice of ours.
How long it takes
Verification usually completes within a few minutes and can take up to an hour. You will get an email when you submit, and another the moment there is a decision. The app shows progress on the Card tab throughout.
Passing the photo checks first time
Most rejections are photo problems, and all of them are fixable on a second attempt:
- Take the photo of you fresh, at that moment. The check verifies a live capture. Photos picked from your gallery, screenshots and photos of photos are declined.
- Light and glare. Use a well lit spot and angle the document away from overhead light. Glare across the text is the most common document rejection.
- Match the fields to the document. The issue date and document number must match what is printed. A guessed date fails against the document itself.
- Pick the right document type. The photos are checked against the type you select.
If an application is rejected, the app shows the reason and you can start a new application immediately. Nothing is held against you for a second attempt.
What happens to your information
Your application is encrypted at rest and decrypted only server-side at the moment of submission to the card issuer. Verification is performed by the issuer and its verification partner. Card numbers are never stored on Greenwood servers. We do not sell personal information, and the identity file is used for card issuance and compliance, nothing else.
If your city is not listed
The address step offers the issuer's own city list, which is coarse in some countries. Pick the closest listed city; your street address and postal code carry your exact location and go through verbatim.