Upbit's verification is built around Korea's real-name account law. You register with a Korean mobile number, verify your identity with a resident registration number or Alien Registration Card, then link a K Bank account held in the same name. The bank link is mandatory before any won deposit, and K Bank, an internet-only bank, in practice opens accounts for Korean residents with local phone verification. Korean customers with an existing K Bank account are usually approved the same day.
Foreign nationals face a harder path. An Alien Registration Card is required, most short-term visitors cannot obtain one, and even long-term residents report being unable to open the K Bank account or being rejected after opening it. Korea's 2025 regulatory push, including the FIU sanction over 700,000 KYC lapses, made exchanges stricter rather than looser. The Trustpilot complaints about Upbit are almost all this story: an applicant abroad who never got past the bank step.
Anytime Capital verifies customers with a government ID and a selfie, with additional checks for larger orders, and confirms eligibility for your location, including state by state in the United States. No Korean bank account is involved. If the automated check stalls, a person at (470) 748-2530 can see where it stopped.