The Travel Rule is based on a series of recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global organization that sets standards and policies that participating countries can implement in the fight against global financial crime (including money laundering and terrorist financing).
Put simply, the Travel Rule requires financial institutions to share information about parties involved in a financial transaction. The rule applies even when youâre sending/receiving crypto between accounts you own, or on- and off-ramping with Ramp.
The UKâs implementation of the Travel Rule regulation has now been extended to cryptoasset businesses (such as Ramp) from 01 September 2023.
As a UK-registered cryptoasset business, we must abide by these rules.
How does the Travel Rule work for crypto transfers?
In a nutshell, hereâs how it works for crypto transactions:
If Alice wants to send Bitcoin from her Binance wallet to Bobâs Coinbase address (both hosted wallets), then both Binance and Coinbase would have to ensure that the details of Alice (sender) and Bob (receiver) match;
If instead, Alice sends Bitcoin from Binance to Bobâs Trust Wallet address, then she would still need to state Bob as the recipient of the transaction, while declaring that his address corresponds to a self-hosted wallet.
For transactions through Ramp specifically, we need to make sure that, if youâre using a hosted wallet, we have confirmed your details (including if you own the wallet) with the business that hosts your wallet.
What information do I need to provide when buying or selling crypto?
Because you (our customer) are the person weâre sending crypto to, or receiving crypto from, we already know who you are. This means we already hold the information we need to confirm with your wallet host whether or not you own the crypto wallet you are using.
However, we do need you to confirm if your crypto wallet is hosted or self-hosted and confirm that it belongs to you. This is the case both when your crypto wallet is on the receiving side (when youâre buying crypto from Ramp) and when itâs on the sending side (when youâre selling crypto to Ramp).
If Iâm using a hosted wallet, what information does Ramp share with my wallet provider?
Ramp will only share information about you with the crypto asset business that hosts your wallet to confirm that you own the wallet that you are using. Any data we share is in line with our Data Privacy Notice.
The information we share is limited to the minimum required by the Travel Rule regulations in the relevant country. This may include details such as your Personally Identifiable Information, address, wallet address, and User ID.
How does the Travel Rule apply to me?
Everyone, irrespective of country or region, is required to declare what type of wallet they use for their Ramp transactions. However, there is a slight difference in how we use this information.
đșđžUsers located in the US
If youâre in the US, we donât share this information.
đUsers located elsewhere in the world
If youâre anywhere else in the world and using a hosted wallet, weâll share the relevant information with the wallet provider from/to which youâre sending crypto to confirm that you are indeed the owner of that wallet.
Does Ramp give my information to the authorities?
We respect your privacy. Weâll only share your information with authorities or regulators where weâre required by law. You can find more details in our Privacy Notice.
What happens if I donât provide the information?
If you canât or wonât provide the required information, or if you provide us with incorrect information, your transaction may be blocked or canceled, and your account may be suspended or terminated.