What Is the FATF Travel Rule?
The FATF Travel Rule is an international standard that requires financial institutions to collect and share information about customers when they send or receive cross-border payments. The rule was created by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global intergovernmental organization dedicated to combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats. The purpose of the rule is to help identify suspicious transactions and prevent criminals from using the international financial system for illicit activities.
Under the FATF Travel Rule, banks must obtain certain customer information before processing any payment over $1,000 USD. This includes details such as name, address, account number, date of birth, nationality/residence status and transaction amount. Banks are also required to keep records of all customer data collected in order to facilitate investigations into potential criminal activity. Additionally, banks must ensure that this data is securely transmitted between them when making transfers across borders so it can be used for anti-money laundering purposes if necessary.