Hello,
I am sorry to hear all these stories, I just wanted to share mine in case it helps someone (and I really hope Etsy undo the suspension of your shop soon @FrancescaWatercolour .
1. I am a Chilean citizen living in Australia. When I tried to verify my account I never got the deposit (like the 3 times I tried). The bank account I was using is one that I opened as a secondary for my business (so I did not open it in person, but from the app in my phone). My name in my bank account is: Firstname Middlename Lastname. My name in Etsy was: Firstname Lastname. The name of the bank is known in Australia by Commonwealth, so I wrote it like that.
2. After several attempts of trying to verify I open a case and days later received an email asking for a bank statement. I uploaded de bank statement. They could not verify my account with it.
3. Because I thought that my name was the problem, I updated my name to: Firstname Middlename (in the first name box) Lastname (in the last name box). I uploaded my passport, and they could not verify my name.
4. I decided to update my bank details again and I wrote the full name of the bank according to the bank statement, so: Commonwealth Bank of Australia. They verified my bank account (so my name was not the problem but the bank's name).
5. Because my name was not verify they could not transfer the funds yet. I got an email saying that they could not verify my name. I uploaded marriage certificate from Australia (in which an address from another place I lived was stated) and ID card from Chile, and for some reason they could not verify my name.
6. I received another message asking for a bill with my full name, which I did not have. They also wanted me to clarify where I was located because they could not find where I was physically. I replied to that email saying that I wanted to cancel the change of my name because all the issues and that I still wanted explanations about why they could not verify my name. I also clarified where I was living, where I was from, etc. I attached all the documents with my name and address to this email, including an electricity bill (which did not have my full name, just part of it, but just in case). They verified my full name.
7. So far, all good. I received a message saying that the funds were on my way. But 2 days later I received an email saying that they could not do the deposit and that I should update my bank details.
8. I updated my bank account details to the bank account that I opened in person. They verified the account, and 5 days later they did the deposit in my bank account!
What I have learnt:
1. Everything needs to match perfectly, apparently including addresses! I updated all the places where they asked for my address so they would be exactly the same.
2. In a conversation with another seller, this person found that Etsy has their own system to do the deposits and that it may have outdated databases of bank account numbers (in case of Australia the BSBs). In my case worked the second time maybe because they did not have the BSB for an account I opened online, but they have the one that I opened in person years ago. For this other seller worked opening a new bank account. This also relates to an experience my partner had with Paypal, they could not transfer funds to our bank, but to another one he opened online.
Anyways, all the best to everyone! Hope everyone succeed in their business and manage to solve the issue with verification and deposits.
