How do I fix Etsy rejecting my Singapore FIN as a taxpayer ID?

Hi! If Etsy is rejecting a FIN that you know is valid, it’s almost always because something else in your identity profile doesn’t match exactly (name/address/DOB/country), or the third‑party verification check can’t confidently “pair” the FIN you typed with the rest of your account data—so the fix is usually (1) make every field match your documents perfectly, then (2) get Etsy to push it to a manual review and re-open the verification flow.

Here’s what I’d do, in the order that tends to resolve it fastest:

1) Make sure every identity detail matches your ID letter-for-letter
Small differences can fail verification even when the FIN format is correct:

• Legal name: Enter it exactly as shown on your FIN document (same order, same spacing, include middle name if it appears, don’t “Westernize” the order if your document doesn’t).
• Address: Use a single, consistent format everywhere on Etsy (Legal & tax info, Shop settings/contact, and any payout/billing sections that show a name/address). Avoid extra punctuation, abbreviations that aren’t on your proof, and don’t mix “Blk/Block/#/Unit” variations across sections.
• Date of birth & country of residence: Must match the ID and must be set to Singapore (double-check you didn’t accidentally select a different country anywhere during setup).
• Phone number: Use a Singapore number in the correct international format and keep it consistent.

2) Enter the FIN in the “cleanest” format
Even when support says the format is valid, the automated checker can still be picky:

• Type the FIN exactly as the document shows, but without any extra spaces (and don’t add hyphens).
• Try all caps for the letters (e.g., F1234567N, not f1234567n).
• Don’t copy/paste (sometimes invisible characters come along); type it manually.

3) Check for the most common “mismatch triggers” that aren’t obvious
These trip up Etsy Payments / identity verification a lot:

• Bank account holder name mismatch: Your bank account name should match the legal name you entered on Etsy (not your shop name). If your bank statement shows initials or a slightly different name, that can cause trouble.
• Card/billing name mismatch: If the payment card on file is under a different name, update it so the name aligns with your Etsy legal name (or remove/replace if needed).
• Using a VPN / unusual network / aggressive privacy tools: Turn off VPN, ad blockers, iCloud Private Relay, corporate networks, etc., and retry on a normal connection.

4) Stop repeated attempts and ask Etsy to trigger a manual review / reset
Etsy uses a third-party identity verification provider, and Etsy can also have a manual review path. If you keep retrying, you can sometimes end up blocked from re-attempting for a while—so at this point, I’d stop submitting new attempts and ask support for two specific actions:

• Reset/restart the identity verification flow (so you can re-submit cleanly after you’ve aligned all details).
• Manual review (non-automated review) of your verification, since the FIN is valid but the automated check keeps failing.

When you contact support again, be very explicit and structured (it helps get escalated). You can say something like:

• You’re an individual seller in Singapore
• Your only personal tax identifier is FIN
• The FIN is accepted, format confirmed, but verification still fails
• Your payouts are on hold and you need manual review or a verification reset

5) Be ready to provide documents that “connect” your FIN to your details
Even if Etsy doesn’t ask immediately, having these ready helps the escalation:

• Clear photo/scan of your FIN document (front/back if applicable) or the government-issued ID showing FIN
• A proof of address document that matches the address you entered (recent utility bill/bank statement/government letter)
• A bank document/statement showing the account holder name (to prove your payout account matches you)

6) After you fix details, keep everything stable
Once you’ve submitted (or once support resets it), avoid changing:

• legal name, address, bank details, phone number, or shop ownership info
  Frequent edits can re-trigger checks and extend a payout hold.

If you want, paste (no private numbers) the exact way you’re entering your legal name (including order and whether you included any middle name) and how your address is formatted on Etsy, and I’ll tell you what usually needs to be made more “document-perfect” to get the FIN accepted.