Does this apply to me?
The Travel Rule applies to customers verified in Indonesia, Malaysia, or the United Kingdom. We’re gradually rolling it out to customers in Nigeria. It is expected to be implemented in South Africa by 30 April 2025.
The reason we ask you these questions when you’re receiving crypto is due to Luno’s compliance obligations with the Travel Rule.
What is the Travel Rule?
Over the last few years, there’s been a dramatic rise in investment in cryptocurrencies, and as a result, regulators are now setting their sights on the rapidly developing crypto corner of the financial services industry.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) - an independent inter-governmental body that develops and promotes policies on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) - has recently extended the Travel Rule to the crypto industry.
Tip
If you’d like to find out more about the Travel Rule, we’ve answered the most frequently asked questions in this article.
I don’t have all day, can you give me the details?
The Travel Rule requires that we obtain certain details about the transaction and the person or company/legal entity you receive crypto from. We do this by reaching out to that person or entity’s Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP).
VASP? Gosh, what on earth is that?
A VASP refers to a business that facilitates any of the following on behalf of its customers:
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An exchange between fiat currency and crypto
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An exchange between different types of crypto
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The sending or receiving of crypto
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The storing of crypto
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And the provision of financial services related to the issuing and/or sale of a crypto
Luno is considered a VASP.
Okay, so what should I do when I receive crypto?
When receiving crypto, we may ask you to provide:
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The name of the VASP you’ve received from, where the address is held with another exchange or crypto platform
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Or the name of the wallet provider you've received from, where the address is a private wallet address
Note
Not sure what the difference is? Where the address is held by another exchange or crypto platform, it means that the address is held in your name by another platform such as another exchange, who will hold the private key on your behalf. This is referred to as a custodial wallet.
On the flip side, a private address is a wallet that you’ve created yourself and where you hold the private key. This is referred to as a non-custodial wallet. Examples of these are hardware wallets (such as Trezor) or web wallets (such as Metamask). If you’re not sure, we’d suggest asking the person you’re receiving from.
Final thoughts
Luno is committed to maintaining the highest standards of AML and CFT compliance, so where Travel Rule compliance is required by law in any of our supported countries, we need to get the information from you, so that we can continue giving you the full Luno experience.
Regulatory things can sometimes feel a little overwhelming, but ultimately, they help create a safe place for you to store, buy, send and sell cryptocurrencies.