User identity verification, the chicken and the egg dilemma

According to documentation (Identity Verification):

Before you can assign contacts to user wallets, you will need to use Rapyd’s identity verification service.

Once you create a new user wallet, you will need to verify their identity.

As far as I understand, User wallet can only accept one contact, why are the docs talking in plural when referring to contacts in User Wallets?

It also says that before adding a contact I need a User wallet, but, can I create a user wallet without a contact? From docs and Postman it looks like I always need a contact embedded in the body of the wallet creation endpoint.

So contrary to what is written in that paragraph, to me it looks like I just create a user wallet normally with its single contact in it, and then I can apply for KYC verification, correct?

Also, what are the restrictions of a wallet with no KYC? Most probably it will not be able to cash out, but, can it cash in? transfer?, are there amount limits?

Thank you!

Thanks @dlupo, in this specific case, “their” is still pointing to a singular person.

Other language may refer to multiple wallets tied to their contacts, but still one to one relationship.

That being said, I do realize this could be more clear for a global audience. I’ll take a look at this to clean it up.

Your thoughts on KYC is correct.

I do want to note that a business/company wallet can have multiple contacts.

For your other question, I am seeing team members discuss this as we speak, and if a wallet contact is at "compliance_profile": 0,

I will loop back around and confirm, but the sentiment I am getting is that basically there are no payments in or out for the most part.

If the wallet is somehow funded through a Virtual Account issuing, funds will go to the client account. Rapyd and the client would get a notification. This would go to the master wallet with $2,500 maximum. If you try to collect more, or exceed this amount it would be rejected.

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First of all, thank you!, the speed and clarity of Rapyd support is top notch!

I don’t think there is much you can do with the docs, since IMHO the true confusion is at the API core level, because you tell me about creating a wallet in a Restful API and then you present me an endpoint POST /user :sweat_smile:, every senior dev in the world is gonna rise and eyebrow here, I criticize this a couple of years back.

And then there are parameters inside that get repeated at different levels of the object like first_name and last_name.

I know designing fintech API is hard especially because regulations change over time and you had to adapt, often making Frankenstein choices to the code (I’ve been suffering this for the past 10 years of my career :smiling_face_with_tear:). If I were you, instead of using energy to change the docs, I will pressure the devs in order to fix the endpoints.

A good API is like a good joke, if you have to explain it, is not that good.

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Thanks for sharing these comments - I have passed them on to someone who can do something about it. As you might expect, making sweeping changes in an API has big consequences - every script out there that works with the API needs to be updated. Also, if we’re not careful about it, we could break existing scripts, which is not a very good business model.

I don’t know how long it will take before our ‘version 2’ gets released, but I can assure you that it is in the works. We spent several months creating an infrastructure that will allow us to do a graceful sunsetting of features that need to be upgraded, including big and small tweaks on endpoints, errors, etc.Piece by piece, it will get done. In the meantime, we rely on our documentation to clearly explain how to use the existing API, even if it is not fully compliant with the REST specifications.

And if you find an error in the docs, please let us know and we will fix it ASAP.

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Also, about the wallets, let me try to clear something up.

There are three types of wallet:

  • Client wallet - this can have one business contact. The client wallet belongs to one of Rapyd’s clients, and it is set up as part of the client onboarding process. The identity verification process for this is KYB, and it is done through an online questionnaire, which you access through the Client Portal.
  • Business wallet - This is one kind of “user wallet” - it can have one business contact and an unlimited number of personal contacts. I’m not clear on the current status of the verification feature - it’s undergoing some design changes right now. If it’s important to your project, let me know and I will find the right person to ask.
  • Person wallet - This is the other kind of “user wallet” - it can have only one contact, a personal contact. This is what the KYC process is for - The end-user uses a hosted page to provide the required information.

This is all documented in the API Reference.