Pocket Broker Sign Up: How to Open an Account

Before you sign up

You need three things: to be of legal age, an email you have permanent access to, and a valid official ID. And one precaution beforehand: only enter through the official site, typing the address yourself.

Five minutes of preparation here save you a week of emails with support later. The reason is that the data you write when signing up is the same data later compared against your documents, and it isn't always something you can change with one click.

Basic requirements

• Be of legal age. The account must be in your name; registering an account with someone else's details blocks any future withdrawal.
• A personal email you can always access. That's where the confirmation, security alerts and password recovery arrive.
• A phone number of your own, for two-step verification.
• A bank account or payment method in your name, if you plan to deposit and withdraw.

Documents you'll need

They aren't asked for at the moment of sign-up, but having them ready makes the next step a matter of minutes:

• Valid official ID: voter ID (INE), passport or driver's licence. It must not be expired.
• Recent proof of address: an electricity, water or phone bill, or a bank statement, with your name and address visible.
• Good lighting for the photos. The number one cause of rejection is a blurry document or one with the flash's glare over the data.

Entering through the official site

This point isn't a formality. There are pages that copy the sign-up form with the same design and the same logo, and their only goal is to keep the email and password you type in there. Type the official address into the browser yourself or save it in bookmarks, check the security padlock, and be suspicious of any sign-up link that reaches you through messaging or an ad.

Once that's settled, you can open your account on the official site and continue with the form.

Have your valid ID and a proof of address on hand before you start: the sign-up details have to match them.

Creating the account

The form asks for email, password and account currency. It's confirmed with a link sent to your email, and then you can log in. The whole process takes a few minutes if you have your details ready.

These are the steps in the exact order they appear. Follow the sequence without skipping the last point, which is the one almost everyone puts off.

1. Open the official site by typing the address yourself and find the sign-up button. Check the browser's padlock before typing anything.
2. Type your personal email. Use one you check daily, not a disposable address: withdrawal confirmations and access alerts will arrive there.
3. Create a password unique to this account. Long, and one you don't use on any other service. Most unauthorised access comes from reused passwords leaked on another site.
4. Choose the account currency. Think about it for a second, because changing it later isn't always possible: if you're going to deposit in pesos using local methods, an account in pesos saves you a conversion on every transaction.
5. Accept the terms and the privacy policy. Skim them, especially the parts about withdrawals and promotions.
6. Confirm your email. Open the message that arrives and click the link. If it doesn't show up, check the spam folder before requesting another one.
7. Log in for the first time and turn on two-step verification from the security settings. It's the best-spent minute of the whole process.
8. Upload your verification documents without waiting until you need a withdrawal. We explain further below why this point matters so much.

Signing up with social networks

There's usually an option to sign up with a Google account or a social network. It's faster and avoids creating another password, but it has a consequence: your access to the platform stays tied to that service. If you lose the associated email account or switch providers, recovering access gets complicated.

If you choose that route, make sure the social account itself also has its own two-step verification turned on. If you prefer full control, classic sign-up with email and password is the cleanest option.

Confirming the email

Until you confirm the email, some features stay limited, and for good reason: it's the only proof that the address is yours. If the message doesn't arrive, check that you didn't mistype the email domain, look in spam, and wait a few minutes before requesting a resend so you don't generate several links that cancel each other out.

A real email, a unique password, a currency chosen with some thought, and two-step verification turned on the same day: that's a sign-up done right.

Initial setup

Before depositing, spend a few minutes on three settings: currency and profile details, account security, and switching to the demo account to get to know the platform without risking anything.

The account already exists, but it isn't ready yet. These initial settings are what prevent most of the problems that later get read about in forums.

Currency and profile details

Check in your profile that first name, last name, date of birth and country are written exactly as on your official ID. No abbreviations, no leaving out a second surname, no dropping accents if the document carries them. When verification comes, a system compares both texts and doesn't interpret good intentions.

Also confirm the account currency. If you choose pesos, your deposits by transfer or in cash go in without conversion; if you choose another currency, every transaction goes through an exchange rate, and the amount you see won't be the one that left your bank.

Security settings

• Two-step verification. Turn it on today. Without it, your password is the only thing standing between a stranger and your balance.
• Access alerts. If the platform offers email notices when you log in from a new device, leave them on.
• Password in a manager. Save it in your browser's or phone's manager instead of reusing one you already use elsewhere.
• Log out on devices that aren't yours. A session left open on a shared computer is an open account.

Trying the demo first

Before sending money, switch the account selector to demo and trade for a while with virtual balance. It's not a courtesy recommendation: it's the way to find out where every button is without a mistake costing you anything. There you can set the amount, close the term, review the history and understand how a result is calculated.

If you're not in a hurry to deposit, the sensible thing is to practise first on the demo account, without depositing and leave the first deposit for when the interface no longer makes you hesitate.

A name identical to your ID, two-step verification turned on, and some time in the demo: that's what actually leaves the account ready.

Identity verification

Identity verification, or KYC, is required before your first withdrawal. Doing it the day you sign up, when you're not in a hurry, is the best decision you can make about the whole account.

Here's the most valuable advice in this guide, and the one most people ignore until it hurts.

Why it's asked for

Any platform that moves money is required to check who its user is, under anti-money-laundering rules and to stop anyone from trading under someone else's identity. It's not a made-up obstacle to hold on to your balance: it's the standard requirement in the industry, and a platform that didn't ask for it would be the suspicious one.

Accepted documents

Usually a valid official ID and a recent proof of address are requested. Concrete recommendations so it passes the first time:

• A photo of the full document, with all four corners inside the frame.
• Natural light, no flash and no shadows over the data.
• A valid document. An expired one is rejected even if the data is correct.
• Recent proof of address, with your name and address legible.
• The same details you wrote in your profile, letter for letter.

When to complete it: the important argument

You can verify on day one or wait until you want to withdraw. They're two very different experiences.

Almost all the "they won't let me withdraw" complaints that circulate about platforms of this kind describe exactly the second row of that table: a pending verification discovered at the worst possible moment. Doing it early turns a potential problem into a forgotten formality.

Verify your identity the same day you open the account: it's the step that keeps your first withdrawal from getting stuck.

Sign-up errors

The most common snags are three: an email already registered, details that don't match the ID, and a confirmation message that doesn't arrive. All three are solved in minutes if you know what to check.

None of these cases means the platform is rejecting you. They're procedural glitches with a known fix.

The email is already registered

This almost always means you already opened an account before and forgot, or you signed up with the social-network option using that same email. Before creating another account, try recovering the password with that address: if the reset message arrives, the account exists and it's yours.

One important warning: don't open a second account with another email to get around the problem. Duplicate accounts under the same person's name are usually banned in the terms and complicate withdrawals. If you can't get into the original one, write to support explaining the situation.

The details don't match

If verification comes back rejected because the details don't match, compare letter for letter what's in your profile against what's on your ID. The usual culprits are a missing second surname, an abbreviated first name, a birth date with the day and month swapped, and addresses written differently on the proof of address.

Fix the profile if the platform lets you, or ask support for the change and attach the document. Never upload someone else's documents to get past this: that's exactly what closes the account for good.

The confirmation email doesn't arrive

1. Check the spam folder and the promotions tabs.
2. Make sure you typed the email domain correctly, which is where most typing errors happen.
3. Wait a few minutes before requesting a resend: several links in a row can cancel each other out, and only the last one works.
4. If it still doesn't arrive, write to support from the same address you used when signing up.

When to write to support, and how

Once you've already tried the above. Send a short, complete message: what you were trying to do, the exact message you saw, from which device, and attach a screenshot. A message like that gets resolved much faster than one that just says it doesn't work.

With the account created and verified, the next step is up to you: if you don't want to put money in yet, spend a few days on the demo account with a written plan; if you already know what you want, check the deposit methods and minimums before sending your first amount. And if you still haven't signed up, you can complete the sign-up now and do the verification in the same session.

Almost all sign-up errors are procedural: check your email, compare your details against your ID, and write to support with screenshots.