Onboarding & KYB Friction - Is it worse lately?
Hey all, just curious about everyone's recent experiences with broker onboarding and KYB. I've been trying to set up accounts with a couple of new providers, primarily for CFD and some crypto exposure that my main broker doesn't handle, and the process has felt incredibly clunky and slow compared to even a year or two ago.
I get that regulations are tightening, and that's good for overall market integrity, but some of these steps feel almost intentionally designed to create drop-offs. One particular outfit took over a week to verify documents, even after I provided everything they asked for multiple times. Another is still stuck on 'proof of funds' despite bank statements showing clear balances. Is this just me, or is the friction getting higher across the board? What's your threshold for bailing on a new broker if the onboarding is a nightmare, even if their spreads look competitive? Trying to gauge if I'm being impatient or if this is a genuine trend.
It's definitely gotten worse, not just for new accounts but for existing ones too. Any minor change or update now seems to trigger a full KYC re-evaluation, which is ridiculous.