‍Why we do these checks and how they affect you.

Moving money quickly and easily is something we’ve come to take for granted. The ability to send funds from one account to another, both at home and internationally, is now part of our everyday lives.p

But, as the saying goes, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. So how do financial institutions across the world ensure the money moving through their platforms is coming from legitimate sources? This is where Source of Wealth checks come in.

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Doing our part to tackle financial crime

Not just good practise – it’s the law‍

Source of Wealth checks are simply a way of allowing Chip to understand your financial situation and where your funds are being deposited from. This could be anything from your salary, savings, a gift from a relative, or profits earned from your business or investing.

So, why do we need to know where your money comes from? Well, knowing the source of our users’ wealth is important for a number of reasons:

• ✅ To verify that the transactions made were actually completed by you;
• ✅ To protect our entire Chip Community and their funds from fraud, or from being linked to illegal activities; 
• ✅ To comply with the relevant laws and regulations that allow us to operate and offer financial services in the UK.

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How Chip handles Source of Wealth checks 

A dedicated team is on hand

At Chip, checking the source of our users’ funds is handled by a dedicated operations team. They are responsible for reviewing the funds that come into Chip, tackling financial crime, and making sure we comply with our regulatory responsibilities.

Source of Wealth checks are automated, meaning our systems work out if or when a Source of Wealth check is required based on a set of criteria. This will vary from user to user depending on multiple factors in line with our regulators and terms of use.

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What happens if I’m selected for a check? 

We aim to make the process quick and easy

If we require information on your source of wealth, we’ll send you an email which explains exactly what you need to do. You can provide this information in a variety of ways, with a number of official documents accepted that clearly shows the origin of your wealth. This could be a copy of recent payslips, bank statements, or documents outlining the sale of an asset such as a car or property.  

If you have any questions about the type of documents you need to submit, our customer service team is here to help.

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What happens after I submit my documents?

We’ll review your documents and get back to you ASAP

Our operations team will process your documents and personal information and complete the necessary checks. We use sophisticated automated software and security partners to complete this work, but please note the majority of the process is completed by a real person.

We appreciate your patience during this time, so please try and avoid getting in touch while we’re processing your documents. We’ll let you know as soon as the process is complete. If you do feel there is a delay or the checks are taking longer than normal, please let us know.

Rest assured, the team works as diligently as they can and periods of high demand, such as ISA season, the end of the financial year or a new product launch, mean it may take a little longer than normal to complete your checks.

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How do I know the request is genuine? 

It’s always best to be safe, so contact us if in doubt.

When we contact you about a Source of Wealth check, you’ll receive the email from hello@getchip.uk. If you have concerns or are in any doubt about whether the request is genuine, you can get in touch with us in your Chip app via the profile tab by selecting ‘Contact us’.

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