KYC & Identity Verification Policy

Last Updated: September 2026

Before Afri KDP pays anyone, we make sure the money is going to the right person. This policy explains, in plain words, why we check identity, what we ask for, who does the checking, how we keep it safe, and what happens if a check fails.

1. Why we check identity

Afri KDP collects payments from readers and pays authors, sellers and affiliates. Nigerian law (Central Bank of Nigeria rules and Anti-Money Laundering rules) and our payment partner, Paystack, require us to know who receives money through the platform. Identity checks also protect authors: nobody can claim your earnings, or open a payout account in your name, without passing the same check.

2. When a check is required

• Before adding a payout account (bank, mobile money or other method).
• Before selling a paid book or paid marketplace item.
• Before withdrawing earnings from your wallet.
• Again, if our team cancels an earlier verification because something did not look right.

Publishing a free book, buying books and reading with a plan do not require an identity check.

3. What we ask for, by country

You choose your country of residence, and we only offer the checks that work there. Examples:

• Nigeria: National Identification Number (NIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN) or international passport. A live selfie is requested when the name on the record and the name on your account do not match exactly.
• Kenya: national ID number.
• Ghana: passport number, or a photo of the Ghana Card.
• Other supported countries: a photo of a national ID or passport.

The list of countries and methods can change as our verification partner adds or removes products.

4. The live selfie

When the name on your NIN or BVN record does not exactly match the name on your Afri KDP account, you are asked to take a live selfie with your camera. Two things are checked: that there is a real, live person in front of the camera (not a printed photo, a screen or a generated face), and that the face matches the photo held on the official record for that number. If the name on the record and the name on your Afri KDP account differ slightly, the selfie decides: a matching face verifies you, a non-matching face does not.

5. Who does the checking

Identity numbers, document photos and selfies are checked by Prembly (Identitypass), a licensed identity verification provider, against the official databases for your country. Bank accounts are confirmed by Paystack, which returns the name on the account. Afri KDP only sees the result of these checks, plus the name, date of birth and gender on the record, so we can confirm they belong to you.

6. What we keep, and what we do not

• We keep the result of the check (verified, failed, under review), the type of ID used, the last four characters of the number, the name and date of birth returned by the record, a match score, and the date.
• We do not keep the full identity number, the selfie, the document photo or the record photo after the check has run. They are sent to the verification provider to run the check and are not stored on Afri KDP.
• Your identity number is shown to you masked, for example ••••5678, and is never shown to other users or to admin staff in full.

7. How we protect it

Checks run over encrypted connections from our servers only. Verification keys never reach your browser. Every check, approval, cancellation and settlement-account creation is written to an audit log with who did it and when. Only Afri KDP administrators can see verification results, and only for support and compliance.

8. When a check can be refused or cancelled

• The number is not found, or is on a watch list.
• The name or date of birth does not match, and the selfie does not resolve it.
• The payout account you add is not in the name of the verified person. The account holder's name is confirmed by Paystack and must match your verified identity.
• The selfie is not a live face, or does not match the record photo.
• The same identity is used on more than one account, or we have reason to believe the account is not operated by the verified person.

Our team may also cancel an existing verification. You will be told why by email, and you can verify again at any time. While a verification is cancelled, payouts are paused and payout accounts cannot be changed.

9. Manual review

Where no automatic face check exists for your country, a check that does not match exactly is reviewed by a person on our team, usually within one working day. We never approve a mismatch automatically.

10. Settlement accounts (Nigeria)

Once a Nigerian author's identity and bank account are verified, Afri KDP creates a settlement account for them with Paystack. Paystack reviews it before the first payout. Withdrawals are available once that review is complete. Authors in other countries continue to be paid by bank transfer or mobile money and are not affected by this step.

11. Your rights and support

You can see your verification status at any time under Identity & KYC in your account. You can ask us what we hold about your verification, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete your account. Write to [email protected] and we will answer within five working days.

12. Related documents

This policy is part of the Terms of Service, the Privacy Policy, the Author Agreement, the Merchant Agreement and the Royalty & Withdrawal Policy.