The Travel Rule is a regulatory requirement designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, particularly in the financial and cryptocurrency industries. It comes from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines, which are followed by many European countries.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an international organization created to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats to the integrity of the global financial system. Established in 1989 by the G7, the FATF sets global standards and guidelines for financial systems and law enforcement agencies worldwide.
The Travel Rule mandates that certain information about the sender and receiver of a transaction must "travel" with the transaction itself when money (or value) is transferred between financial institutions or Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
For transactions over a certain threshold (often $1,000 or €1,000, but this depends on local regulations), the following details are typically required:
Sender (VASP: virtual asset service providers) Information:
Name
Wallet Address
Physical address, national ID number, or other identifying information
Receiver Information:
Name
Wallet Address