VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider)
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.
Operating fiat on/off-ramps without VASP registration in the right jurisdiction is the single most common reason crypto operators get their banking closed after the fact, typically within 3-6 months of a bank discovering unregistered crypto flow. Registering before you apply for banking, not after, is what keeps the relationship open.
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.
MiCA is the EU’s harmonized regulatory framework for crypto-assets, covering issuers of asset-referenced and e-money tokens plus CASPs providing exchange, custody, and trading services.
Know Your Business is the due-diligence process banks, EMIs, and acquirers run to verify a corporate applicant: beneficial ownership, incorporation documents, source of funds, and the nature of the business itself.
Correspondent banking is the arrangement where one bank holds accounts for and executes payments on behalf of another bank, usually to reach currencies or jurisdictions the first bank cannot access directly.