What is PayPal’s Customer Identification Program?
PayPal’s Customer Identification Program is a drive that Paypal requires under Canadian anti-money laundering laws to collect certain information about their customers.
PayPal may collect and record information that confirms your identity, including names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, occupations and details on the nature of your business for individuals and business entities. PayPal may request supporting documentation to assist them in confirming the information you’ve provided. If Paypal do so, you will be prompted with an alert in your account profile to fulfill the request.
If Paypal are unable to confirm your identity, Canadian anti-money laundering laws do not permit them to conduct certain transactions on your behalf. PayPal may deny a requested product or service and/or disable some functionality on your account, such as the ability to send or receive payments, until Paypal complete your identity confirmation.
What documents or additional information will PayPal require from you to provide to confirm your personal information?
- PayPal may require all or a combination of the following documents (must be your most recent statement):
Proof of Address (POA) - Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) statement such as a requirement to pay, installment notice, benefits statement, or Notice of Assessment
- Canada Pension Plan (CPP) statement
- Municipal Property Tax Assessment
- T4 or record of employment statement
- Social benefits statement, such as a Social Assistance, Employment Insurance, Old Age Security or Guaranteed Income Security
- Provincial vehicle registration
- Utility bill, such as electricity, gas, water, and cellphone bill
- Statement from your insurer (life, home, or auto)
In addition to the Proof of Address (POA) document, in some cases, Paypal might as well ask you to provide a Proof of Identity (POI) document such as:
- Government-issued photo ID:
- Driver’s license
- Passport
- Canadian Citizenship card
- Canadian Permanent Resident card
- Provincial Identification card
- Provincial Service card
- Certificate of Indian Status card
- Birth certificate (both long and short forms are acceptable)
- Marriage or divorce documentation (long-form which includes your date of birth)
For Proof of Funds (POF): You need Credit card statement
- Bank account statement for deposit or chequing account
- Loan account statement (for example, mortgage)
PayPal will make every attempt to review the documents you’ve provided within 48 hours, but in some cases it may take longer. If you do not complete the identity confirmation process, some functionality on your PayPal account could be limited, and you may be prevented from sending or receiving payments.
Remember each PayPal account must undergo its own (Customer Identification Program) CIP confirmation.
