Through this partnership, Sumsub aims to strengthen its Travel Rule solution by integrating Merkle Science’s wallet monitoring feature. The end goal is to improve transparency and help digital asset clients accurately trace and identify the source of fund transfers with different Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
Compliance with the Travel Rule compliance is a critical requirement in major jurisdictions, as mandated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Depending on the market(s) that a VASP is engaged with, there might be uncertainty regarding whether transactions surpass certain thresholds for Travel Rule legislation to be enforced. Sumsub introduced its Travel Rule solution in March 2023, with the purpose of securing information transfers between VASPs and supporting all requisite Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, anti-money laundering (AML) screening, and verification orchestration in accordance with regulatory requirements and business necessities.
In essence, this partnership between Merkle Science and Sumsub will facilitate the identification of institutions that need to comply with Travel Rule requirements, while also adding an extra layer of verification through Sumsub's AML and anti-fraud products.
The incorporation of Merkle Science's wallet monitoring feature aims to help Sumsub provide capabilities such as ongoing transaction monitoring, which will allow real-time alerts for digital asset companies in the event of changes in risk levels. According to the company press release, this improvement has the potential to simplify compliance and verification procedures by enabling the identification of illicit activity through the monitoring of sanctioned transactions and the analysis of fund sources and behaviour.
Several countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region have already integrated the Travel Rule into their own legislations, with more expected to follow suit. Singapore has included the Travel Rule in its Payments Service Act since January 2020, mandating the verification of the identities of originator VASPs and the recording of KYC details before conducting fund transfers. According to Sumsub's State of Verification and Monitoring in the Crypto Industry 2023 report, 56% of crypto businesses surveyed globally have plans to integrate the Travel Rule solution, though many have yet to complete this process.
The partnership with Merkle Science is expected to streamline the compliance process, build trust, and ensure industry-wide compliance. Representatives from Merkle Science expressed excitement about the collaboration with Sumsub and their shared vision for the secure and enduring development of digital assets and cryptocurrencies. They anticipate that their enhanced verification processes and monitoring will play a pivotal role in helping the digital asset industry reduce risk and achieve long-term compliance.
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