Onboarding to SOMA.finance - What You Need to Know

The onboarding process covers a number of key steps that enable the use of SOMA.finance products and services, including a full KYC (Know Your Customer)/KYB (Know Your Business) check, a comprehensive AFT (anti-financing of terrorism), AML (anti-money laundering) and AFR (anti-front running) background check, and a whitelisting process to determine the level of trading privileges based on user data.

The reason for having a system like this is to ensure that a user is not a bad actor looking to engage in illicit financial activity, tax evasion, or terrorist funding. Completing the steps proves a customer is who they claim they are. 

With SOMA.finance, you'll only ever have to complete the onboarding once. After you've submitted your details, your application will be reviewed by our team and you'll subsequently receive a notification in your email inbox to update you on the result of your onboarding.‍

You'll require the following in order to complete the onboarding process:

• A Crypto wallet (Metamask, WalletConnect, Coinbase)
• Proof of Identity (Driving License, Passport, National ID)
• Proof of Address (Utility bill or bank statement within the past 3 months)
• A valid email address and mobile number

You can save your progress at any time and come back later to finish your application if required.

Many bemoan the KYC process. They argue it goes against the ethos of crypto decentralization and anonymity. However, KYC verification does offer several important benefits. 

• It combats identity theft and other forms of financial fraud.
• It proactively reduces money laundering risks.
• It helps to improve the trust, security and accountability of financial service providers. This has a beneficial effect on the financial industry as a whole. 
• Lenders can better assess risk by establishing a customer’s identity and financial history, leading to more responsible lending practices. 

KYC helps to reduce and eliminate money laundering and financial fraud. While it makes things more complicated for both individuals and users, the benefits outweigh the inconveniences, especially in the ‘Wild West’ crypto world. 

Reducing illicit activity helps to improve the reputation of the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole. Still, users should take extra precautions when it comes to providing sensitive identifying information as they get KYC verified. 

Due diligence is required to make sure any crypto company implements proper security measures to ensure sensitive data remains secure.

We're working hard to constantly improve our onboarding process to make it as seamless as possible and outline clear expectations about the timeline, requested information, and how to complete each step. Depending on volume of applications, speed of support staff in reviewing and verifying information, and the quality of documents submitted the time to onboard may vary, but we are aiming to ensure that it will be completed within a 24 hour timeline.

Don't panic. You can reach us by emailing support@soma.finance or by using the chat icon on the bottom right of your screen. We'll do our best to help you find an answer and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

We've opened our onboarding to users at the top of our waitlist. Public onboarding will be announced on our social media platforms and to our email subscribers. Subscribe to our email newsletter and don't forget to sign up to get early access and be in with the chance of claiming SOMA tokens.