South Africa implements FATF Travel Rule for digital assets
By: bitcoin ethereum news|2025/05/09 15:45:04
0
Share
Homepage > News > Finance > South Africa implements FATF Travel Rule for digital assets The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Travel Rule for digital currency has taken effect in South Africa, ushering in a new era of transparency in the country’s digital assets sector. The Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) published Directive 9 in November 2024, notifying all VASPs that the Travel Rule would take effect on April 30. Under the Rule, VASPs must collect the originator and beneficiary information, including their full names, ID or passport numbers (if they are South African or foreigners, respectively), dates of birth and residential addresses. Transaction details such as amount, date and the unique transaction ID must also be included. The Travel Rule applies to all transaction sizes. However, some of the requirements are simplified for transactions below R5,000 ($270). The rule further requires VASPs to monitor and report any suspicious transactions. All the collected data must be stored for at least five years and made available to authorities upon request. South African VASPs have taken measures to comply with the new regulations, with violations punishable by fines and license revocations. Binance announced two weeks ago that it would require transaction information from its users, with violators risking unprocessed transactions. Others, like homegrown exchanges Luno and VALR, have made similar announcements. Luno told its users that the Travel Rule will allow VASPs to adhere to the same standards as their legacy finance peers. “If this sounds kind of familiar, the Travel Rule has applied to financial institutions like banks for over twenty years. Banks use the SWIFT system to interact with one another for this purpose,” Luno stated. VALR has also reminded users to provide counterparty details since mid-April in preparation for the new standard. The exchange has partnered with London-based identity service provider Sumsub to comply with the rule. As hundreds of VASPs scramble to comply with the new standard, Bitcoin wallet Centbee has been ready for years. Co-founder Angus Brown told CoinGeek three years ago that this had been the norm for the previous 12 months. “We have been treating it as if it’s applicable in our business for the last year. So, we are doing all the things we’re supposed to do and are compliant already,” he stated. However, others have expressed concerns, particularly over the low reporting threshold of $270. Sean Sanders, whose company, Altify, offers simple ‘crypto’ investment products, says it’s one of the lowest thresholds globally. “This will place extra compliance costs on investment platforms like ours, which may result in slower transaction processing times and an overall worse user experience for our users relative to platforms operating outside of South Africa,” he told a local outlet. Watch | AlphaDAPP: Revolutionizing blockchain adoption in Africa title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0′′ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen=””> Source: https://coingeek.com/south-africa-implements-fatf-travel-rule-for-digital-assets/
You may also like
Old Money in Crypto Shifts: Paradigm Raises $1.2 Billion, Half Bet on AI and Robotics
Bitdeer unveils $36M Nevada factory to shake up Bitcoin mining
Perplexity Fine-Tuned a Chinese AI Model to Match Claude Opus 4.8 at One-Third the Cost
Bank of Korea defends bank-first stablecoin plan amid bill deadlock
JPMorgan says bitcoin's main risk isn't Strategy, but blockchain adoption that doesn't benefit public chains and tokens
Fear & Greed Index Today: What Extreme Fear Means for Crypto, Stocks and Gold
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen to Extreme Fear as Tesla, Intel and the Nasdaq declined. See what it means for traders and explore stocks, crude oil and gold in the WEEX TradFi Trading Challenge.
Labour MPs Push to Make UK Crypto Donation Ban Permanent
Supreme Court ruling expanding Trump's authority over federal agencies raises questions for SEC, CFTC as crypto rulemaking advances
'Bottom building in progress': Analysts say bitcoin holder capitulation signals late-stage bear market
A Comprehensive Analysis: Starting from 1996, Who is Laying the Foundation for the Next Generation of Capital Markets
Luke Dashjr, the Biggest Anti-Spammer of Bitcoin, Inscribed Phrases on the Network in 2011
Whales bought 270,000 BTC while ETFs bled $7 billion. One side is wrong
The crypto IPO class of 2025-26 is down as much as 89%. Autopsy of a listing boom
Robinhood Chain Mining Guide: A Comprehensive Tutorial from Cross-Chain to Memecoin
BitGo CEO says single-digit percentages of bitcoin's supply are 'probably right' for large holders amid Strategy's sale
Beyond Private Keys: How to Safeguard the Security Boundaries of Web3 from Wallets, L2 to Supply Chains?
Vanguard Enters the Market, Opening a New Crypto Gateway for 50 Million Traditional Investors
Why the OUSD Alliance of 150 Companies Still Cannot Shake USDT and USDC?
Old Money in Crypto Shifts: Paradigm Raises $1.2 Billion, Half Bet on AI and Robotics
Bitdeer unveils $36M Nevada factory to shake up Bitcoin mining
Perplexity Fine-Tuned a Chinese AI Model to Match Claude Opus 4.8 at One-Third the Cost
Bank of Korea defends bank-first stablecoin plan amid bill deadlock
JPMorgan says bitcoin's main risk isn't Strategy, but blockchain adoption that doesn't benefit public chains and tokens
Fear & Greed Index Today: What Extreme Fear Means for Crypto, Stocks and Gold
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen to Extreme Fear as Tesla, Intel and the Nasdaq declined. See what it means for traders and explore stocks, crude oil and gold in the WEEX TradFi Trading Challenge.
Customer Support:@weikecs
Business Cooperation:@weikecs
Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
VIP Program:support@weex.com



