An exchange can ask for your passport and still be the wrong place for your transaction. Identity verification tells you about a process the provider applies to you. It does not answer who holds your assets, which services its permissions cover or what leaving will cost. Start with those questions before comparing a long list of coins.
A useful comparison follows the route your money will take: registration, deposit, purchase, custody and withdrawal. At each step, identify the legal entity, the actual charge and the condition that could stop the next step.
Separate identity checks from trust in the provider
FATF's guidance describes customer identification and verification as part of managing financial-crime risks. This is the basis of the familiar KYC process. It should not be treated as a certification of profitability, solvency or suitability.
Read what documents the provider requires and submit them only through its verified process. An unsolicited request to send identity documents to a private messaging account needs independent checking, even if you recently started registration.
Then reverse the direction of the questions. What is the provider's full legal name? Where is it established? Which agreement applies to your residence? Who is responsible for the particular service you want?
Keep those answers together. A brand name on the home page and a different company in the agreement may be legitimate, but the relationship needs to be clear. Do not substitute familiarity with the brand for identifying your counterparty.
Match the legal entity to its permissions
The FCA advises checking firms against its official records and paying attention to the services they may provide. Registration and authorisation are not interchangeable labels. A status relating to anti-money-laundering obligations should not be read as permission for every financial product.
For an EU service, MiCA's authorisation framework also makes the permitted service relevant. Check the applicable official register and the exact entity named in your agreement. Match the website and contact information too, rather than stopping at a similar company name.
Your country and product matter. An account for spot trading is not automatically evidence that leveraged trading or another service is available to you. Read the eligibility requirements shown for your actual account.
Record unresolved differences before depositing. If the website describes a permission but the official entry does not appear to cover your intended service, ask for a clear explanation through verified support. Regulatory status is a check to perform, not a guarantee that no losses can occur.
Compare the transaction, not the headline fee
Official platform pricing disclosures show why interfaces need separate review: instant purchases and order-book trading can use different charging and quoting arrangements. Do not assume that a published maker or taker percentage describes the button you intend to press.
Compare the same asset, quantity, payment method and approximate observation time. Note the total money debited and the net units received. Include explicit fees, payment charges and any currency conversion. Check whether a spread is already included in the quote before adding costs together.
For a hypothetical purchase, one preview charges £500 in total and delivers 4.90 units. Another charges the same £500 and delivers 4.95 units. Their effective acquisition prices are approximately £102.04 and £101.01 per unit. The example compares completed inputs and outputs, not advertised percentages.
Now add the planned withdrawal separately. A cheaper purchase may not produce the cheaper complete journey. Keep the comparison specific to your proposed transaction rather than naming one interface universally cheaper.
Find out when deposited money can leave
Funding instructions should answer more than whether bank transfer or card payment is accepted. Check the account holder requirements, supported currency, minimum, processing estimate and any intermediary or conversion charge.
Official exchange help pages distinguish funds available to trade from funds available to withdraw. A deposit appearing on the dashboard does not necessarily mean you can immediately send assets elsewhere. Look for payment-method holds before funding, particularly if a quick onward transfer is your main purpose.
Write down the receiving bank details or payment instructions directly from the verified account flow. If a caller asks you to pay a different recipient, resolve that discrepancy independently before proceeding.
Check the return route as well: supported withdrawal method, recipient-name requirements, fees and relevant limits. If your plan depends on withdrawing to a particular bank account, establish that route rather than assuming that deposit support implies identical withdrawal support.
Check the exact asset and network
An exchange's coin list is only the start. Official transfer guidance warns that support for a token does not mean support for every blockchain carrying it. Compare the sending and receiving network for the exact asset you intend to move.
Review minimum deposits, minimum withdrawals and charges. Check whether the destination requires a memo or tag in addition to the address. Do not rely on the address looking familiar or on the asset ticker matching.
If you choose a test transfer, ensure it meets the receiving minimum and account for its cost. Verify credit in the destination account before repeating the process with a larger amount. A sent transaction and a correctly credited deposit answer different questions.
Also ask whether withdrawals for that asset and network are currently operating. A general support page can describe a supported route while an account notice reports a temporary restriction. Use both the documentation and the live account instructions.
Evaluate custody, recovery and complaints
Read the custody terms before the first purchase. Identify who controls transfers, how customer assets are described and what the agreement says about suspension or insolvency. If the document leaves you unable to describe your claim, seek clarification instead of assuming a familiar logo answers it.
Inspect available authentication and recovery options. Find the formal complaints procedure and establish which external body, if any, covers your entity and service. Do not assume that a complaints route advertised elsewhere in a group applies to you.
XTZ Swap provides detailed exchange reviews. Use them to organise your questions, then confirm changeable conditions in the provider's own documentation and official registers. Your final comparison should show the entity, permissions, complete transaction cost, funding restrictions, withdrawal route and support process in one consistent record.
Crypto trading and holding assets with a provider can result in loss.
