Travel Rule
The Travel Rule is a FATF requirement that obliges virtual asset service providers to collect and pass on originator and beneficiary information alongside crypto transfers above a set threshold, mirroring the data long required for traditional wire transfers under FATF Recommendation 16.
A crypto business that cannot demonstrate Travel Rule compliance will struggle to keep fiat banking, since banks increasingly require it before onboarding VASPs. Building Travel Rule handling into your stack before you approach a bank is what turns a crypto banking conversation from a decline into a review.
A Virtual Asset Service Provider is a business registered or licensed to exchange, custody, or transfer crypto assets on behalf of customers, a classification introduced by the FATF Travel Rule and adopted into national registration regimes across most jurisdictions that touch fiat rails.
Crypto-Asset Service Provider is the MiCA-era EU term replacing national VASP registrations for firms providing custody, exchange, trading platform, or advisory services on crypto-assets.
Sanctions screening is the checking of customers, counterparties, and transactions against government and international sanctions lists, such as those maintained by the UN, EU, OFAC, and the UK.
An on-ramp converts fiat currency into crypto; an off-ramp converts crypto back into fiat.