Frequently asked questions about the Travel Rule

In simple terms, the Travel Rule requires financial institutions to share information about the individuals on either side of a transaction. This already applies to traditional financial institutions like banks.

The Travel Rule is being extended to Virtual Asset Service Providers (like Luno) on a country-by-country basis. So, if you’re a customer in Malaysia, Indonesia, or the United Kingdom, Luno will ask you for some additional information about where you send crypto to and where you receive crypto from.

VASP stands for Virtual Asset Service Provider. To put it simply, a VASP is any platform that offers crypto services to customers, such as exchange services or custody services. Examples of VASPs include Luno, FTX, Coinbase, etc.

If you’re a customer in Malaysia, Indonesia, or the United Kingdom then the Travel Rule applies when you send or receive crypto. We've also begun to implement the Travel Rule in Nigeria, but this is not yet launched to all customers. It will apply to customers in South Africa as well by 30 April 2025.

Luno is monitoring the adoption of the Travel Rule in all of the countries in which we operate and it is expected that the Travel Rule will apply to all customers in the near future.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a global organisation that sets international standards and policies for countries to follow, like the Travel Rule, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Where the Travel Rule has been incorporated into a country’s laws, Luno must comply with the Travel Rule.

Luno also supports the FATF’s objectives behind introducing the Travel Rule to the crypto industry. In time, we believe that the Travel Rule will lead to higher customer confidence in VASPs and will promote trust in the crypto industry as a whole.

No, the Travel Rule does not affect your fees at all

Luno respects customer privacy, and will only share information with authorities or regulators where required by law. You can find more detailed information in our Privacy Policy.

A common criticism of the Travel Rule is that it may lead to the increased centralisation of the crypto industry. Keep in mind that the underlying technology that powers all cryptocurrency transactions remains decentralised. Transactions continue to be recorded and confirmed on a public blockchain that isn’t controlled by any single authority.

Luno facilitates the transfer of high volumes of funds, so we have a responsibility to comply with the latest anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) regulations. While some may feel that the Travel Rule goes against the decentralised nature of cryptocurrency, regulations like this are a key step in legitimising cryptocurrency, building trust in the industry, combating fraud, and keeping our customers’ funds safe.

You’ll need to let us know:

• Whether you’re sending crypto to yourself or to someone else,

• whether the address is a private address controlled by the individual owner, or hosted by another exchange or crypto platform,

• and some details about the recipient and the platform/provider they’re using.

It’s important that you provide us with the correctly spelled name. If you misspell someone’s name, you won’t lose your crypto, but the transaction may be delayed or cancelled.

Before our customers send to another Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), the Travel Rule requires Luno’s compliance team to assess that VASP. The full list of approved VASPs. You’ll also find them in a selection menu when you go through the crypto send process.

If you're sending crypto to a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) with multiple country branches, try to be specific about the country branch. Please check which branch the recipient is a customer of. The VASP’s Terms of Use will usually have this information. If this information is not available, please select the most generic option.

Unfortunately, if you don’t see the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) listed on the selection menu when you make your send, you won’t be able to send cryptocurrency to that platform from Luno. If the VASP is not on the list, please contact support, and our compliance team will assess the VASP in due course.

It's true that Binance is not a registered Digital Asset Exchange with the Securities Commission of Malaysia. The Securities Commission banned Binance from offering services to Malaysians, but Binance as a company is still operating. Luno customers can send crypto to Binance, provided you give us all the necessary Travel Rule information. You should be aware of the risks of sending crypto to an unregulated exchange in Malaysia.

Yes. The Travel Rule still applies to these transactions so you may be required to provide us with information about where you’re sending to. 

To comply with the Travel Rule, Luno may need to share certain information about you with the corresponding crypto platform. Luno will only share information about you with the crypto platform which you have elected to send to, and only where Luno has approved the crypto platform. Also, Luno will only share information in line with the applicable laws in your country. This means that:

• In the UK and Malaysia, we may be required to share your name and certain additional information such as your identity number and residential address.

• In Indonesia, we don’t currently share your information.

When you receive crypto from another Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), you’ll need to provide us with the name of the VASP, so that we can request the Travel Rule information from that VASP.

Personal mining rigs or mining pools are treated as private wallet addresses. You may receive and send to these addresses. Please declare it as a private wallet address and provide us with the name of the mining pool.

Yes. The Travel Rule still applies to these transactions so you may need to provide us with information about where you have received the funds from. There may also be some restrictions depending on your country:

• In Malaysia and Indonesia, you can receive crypto from someone else’s private wallet address or from your own.

Yes, mining faucets are considered to be private wallets. You may receive from a crypto faucet into your Luno account provided that you provide us with the necessary Travel Rule information.