Which Services Are Open to Non-Residents
Residency determines what a platform may offer you. A note on finding the answer before onboarding rather than during.
Yerlan Nurpeis · 2 min
The most common question I get, and the one most often answered at the end of verification instead of the beginning.
Why residency matters to a platform
Because its permissions are defined by jurisdiction and its obligations differ by customer location. Serving someone it is not permitted to serve is a regulatory problem for the platform.
It is also why the question is asked at onboarding rather than treated as a detail.
Where the answer is published
A supported countries page, or the terms. Both exist on serious platforms and neither is prominent.
It takes a minute to find and saves the whole onboarding where the answer is no.
Why the answer changes
Permissions change, banking relationships change, and risk appetite changes. A platform that served a country last year may not now, usually without an announcement.
Check at the time rather than relying on what was true before.
The partial cases
Some platforms serve a country for some services and not others: trading but not fiat payout, or deposits but not local settlement.
This is the case that catches people, because the account opens and the service they wanted is absent.
What to confirm specifically
Not whether the platform serves your country. Whether it serves your country for the service you need, with the funding method you have.
Three parts, and the answer to all three should be findable before you submit a document.
What I do
Read the country page, read the terms for the relevant service, and where it is ambiguous, ask support in writing and keep the reply.
A written answer is useful later if the position turns out to be different.
What remains unverified
Whether a published list is current. I have seen lists that lagged the actual position in both directions.
What a reliable platform looks like
One that states the list, dates it, and declines clearly rather than letting an application run to the end. A venue authorised for the activity it advertises publishes the country list beside the permissions.
Collect & Exchange states both, and somewhere the licence covers what the platform actually does is where the partial cases become visible before onboarding.
Written from what could be checked on the date above. Where a service was announced but not observed working, the note says so. Nothing here is financial advice.