It is hard not to be intrigued when a platform offers stock, ETF and cryptocurrency investment as well as copy trading. eToro is one platform that has been around for quite a while and has a whopping 3,000 assets in its kitty. It is generally regarded as an established platform trusted by millions of users.
eToro, like many other exchanges, requires a registered account with KYC verification for trading. This guide will help you in figuring out how to register on eToro and complete an assessment to get an account and services customized according to your skill and experience.
What is eToro?
eToro is a Tel Aviv-based social trading and multi-asset investment company founded by brothers Yoni Assia and Ronen Assia with David Ring. It was founded in 2007 as an online trading platform that makes trading fun. OpenBook, the world’s first social trading platform was launched in 2010 and four years later, eToro also added Bitcoin trading in 2014.
Cryptocurrency trading was expanded in 2017 when eToro started hosting crypto coins like Ether and Litecoin. It entered the US market in 2018 and now has a user base of 30 million and 3,000+ assets available for trading and investment.
What is KYC?
Know Your Customer(KYC) standards are verification standards that establish a customer’s identity. Financial institutions conduct KYC checks to comply with financial service regulations and protect themselves from fraud, money laundering, corruption and terror financing.
KYC helps them confirm that a customer is who they claim to be and that the source of their funds is legitimate. KYC verification may be in the form of ID verification, face verification or even biometric verification in some cases.
Why Create an eToro Account?
Now the question is, out of all the investment platforms out there, why eToro? Turns out, eToro has a lot to offer to its customers. Let’s have a look at some of its features that give eToro an edge over its competitors.
Copy Trading
eToro is one of the few places where you can try copy trading. As the name suggests, you can just copy high-performing traders’ positions without getting embroiled in studying market trends or complex trading strategies. Social trading on eToro gives you a unique communal experience.
Established and Regulated Platform
eToro was founded in 2007 and is an established and well-known brokerage. It is heavily regulated by regulatory authorities such as Financial Crimes Enforcement Network(FinCEN) in the USA, the Financial Conduct Authority(FCA) in the UK and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission(ASIC) in Australia.
Extensive Educational Resources
eToro has quite a collection of educational resources including individual cryptocurrency guides, educational videos and a regularly updated market news and analysis section.
Demo Trading
Want to try crypto trading without the risk of losing your money? Or maybe you want to test some new strategy? Then eToro demo trading might be for you. You create a demo trading account that is credited with $100k and then you can practice investing in diverse assets without putting in any real money.
How to Set Up an eToro Account
Signing up for eToro is an easy task and can be done in a few minutes. But you need to check that you fulfill all the requirements of the platform before attempting to register on eToro.
Step 1: Click on Start Investing on the eToro home page to begin the process. Fill in some basic information such as a Username, and your email address and set a password.
Step 2: Read the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy once and tick off the relevant boxes if you agree with them. Then, click on Create Account.
Step 3: You will be sent a confirmation email and you can verify your email address by checking the email in your inbox. However, if you want, you can skip email verification now and complete it later.
Step 4: Alternately, instead of creating a separate account, you can also log into eToro with your Google or Facebook account. For this, you need to simply click on the Google or Facebook icon on the Sign Up page.
How to Verify Your eToro Account
You need to verify your identity on eToro before you can start trading. It also asks you questions about your investment experience to gauge your skills and customize your profile accordingly.
Step 1: Log in to your eToro account. On the home page, you will see a blue Complete Profile option in the top-left corner. Click on it to begin.
Step 2: After reading the message that pops up, click on Continue. Now, you have to fill in some basic personal information such as your First and Last Name, Gender and Date of Birth. You need to ensure that the information you enter is exactly the same as is registered on your ID documents. After that, click on the Arrow at the bottom to proceed further.
Step 3: Next comes information about your city, country, place of birth and citizenship. Residents of certain countries are also asked to input their National Insurance Numbers. Once you are done, click on the Arrow to go ahead.
Step 4: Now, you will be asked about your trading experience. You may also have to do a simple test that assesses your trading knowledge. This also includes questions about the type of instruments you want to trade in and the purpose of trading.
Step 5: Enter information about your financial status such as your occupation, net annual income and cash and liquid assets. Click on the Arrow to continue. On the Suitability Assessment screen, click on Confirm.
Step 6: Now, verify your phone number by selecting the country code, entering the phone number and clicking on Send SMS. Enter the verification code sent to you and then click on Verify.
Step 7: Now, you have to upload your ID proof which could be a passport or a government-issued ID. You also have to submit Proof of Address such as a utility bill or a bank statement. Make sure that the information on the proofs is clearly visible and that the documents are not cropped or out of focus.
Step 8: Next, enter your Tax Identification Number in the final step. Your account will be verified in about 3 business days. If there is any issue, you will get an email outlining what further information you need to provide.
How to Deposit Funds on eToro
Now, the only thing left to do is to fund your eToro account so that you can make transactions on the platform.
Step 1: Log in to your eToro account. On the home page, click on the Deposit Funds button in the bottom-left corner.
Step 2: Enter the amount you are depositing and the currency you are going to deposit. Note that eToro deals only in USD and deposits in other currencies would be subject to a conversion fee.
Step 3: Choose your deposit method. eToro supports multiple deposit options such as debit or credit cards, bank transfers and PayPal.
Step 4: In case of a bank transfer, you need to go to your bank’s website and enter your username and transaction ID for reference. Complete the payment and send a screenshot of the payment confirmation to the eToro Customer Service Center. Note that bank transfers take 4-7 days business days for the amount to be reflected in the account.
Step 5: For a debit/credit card, you need to enter your card number, its expiry date, the card’s CVV and the name on the card and then click on Deposit.
Step 6: If using any e-wallet, as soon as you click on Continue, you will be redirected to a new page where you can log in to your e-wallet. Review the transaction and after confirming details, click on Pay.
Note: The option you choose for depositing funds is automatically saved as the withdrawal option too. So, make sure that the payment method you select is one that can also receive funds.
eToro FAQs
Does eToro have a Monthly Fee?
There is no monthly fee for eToro as long as your account is active. But if there has been no login to the account for the past 12 months, an inactivity fee of $10 starts being charged on the available balance in the account.
What are eToro’s Registration Requirements?
eToro’s registration requirements include being 18 years or older and being a resident of a country where its services are offered. A computer or phone connected to the internet, a valid email address and a valid phone number connected to a smartphone are some other requirements to have an eToro account.
What is the Minimum Deposit on eToro?
The minimum amount of the first deposit for US residents is $10. But users in most countries must make a minimum deposit of $50 to start trading on eToro. It can, however, go as high as $1,000 in the case of places like Kuwait and the Cayman Islands and $10,000 for Israel.
Conclusion
eToro is a multi-asset platform where you can invest in stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. In addition, it offers a unique social trading experience that you will get on only a few exchanges. However, you need to create an account on eToro in order to explore what it has to offer.
Setting up an eToro account is fairly simple if all your documents are in order and you know what to expect when verifying KYC or depositing money. You can follow the above guide to have a seamless experience on it.