Regulated crypto exchanges in South Africa have put out Travel Rule announcements to their users alerting them of an important change in their operations.
Starting April 30 2025, all regulated crypto exchanges in South Afric are required to implement the Travel Rule, a global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CFT) requirement issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
South Africa is aligning with the global standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that combats financial crime.
G-7 Countries Agree to Step Up Efforts for Tighter Crypto Regulations Set by FSB and FATF Travel Rule
The G-7 has indicated it will follow the standards set by the FSB and acceleratedglobal efforts for the implementation of the FATF Travel Rulehttps://t.co/u4YsNjwmiw
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 17, 2023
As of December 2022, South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) formally recognized crypto asset service providers under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act.
[TECH] South African Financial Regulator, FSCA, Classifies Crypto Assets as Financial Products – an Interim Solution to Address Immediate Consumer Risks: The Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Afr.. https://t.co/5sKTOwJpWz via @BitcoinKE
— Top Kenyan Blogs (@Blogs_Kenya) November 23, 2020
This classification requires all registered service providers to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regulations – such as the Travel Rule.
The FIC (Financial Intelligence Centre) issued Directive 9 on November 15 2024 and set the deadline for implementing the Travel Rule for April 30 2025.
🇿🇦 REPORT | South Africa’s Crypto Firms Under High Risk of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, Says 2025 FIC Report
FIC recently released a sector assessment report in April 2025, which examines how vulnerable local CASPs are to being exploited https://t.co/bDx2JiRX3s pic.twitter.com/Sqnl8mYUja
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 9, 2025
South Africa’s recent greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has also ramped up the heat. Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) are now required to double down on KYC, KYB, and real-time monitoring – making things even tighter. It’s all part of a broader shift toward legitimacy and consumer protection.
Nigeria 🇳🇬, South Africa 🇿🇦 Placed under FATF Grey List – A Total of 8 African Nations Now Under Scrutiny
Interestingly, Botswana was grey listed by FATF before its removal in early 2022 after passing a virtual assets bill to regulate trading of cryptohttps://t.co/wOOrKihLyM
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 28, 2023
What is the Travel Rule
The Travel Rule is a global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) regulatory requirement issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that sets global standards and provides guidelines for countries and institutions, including Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) like VALR.
The Travel Rule requires crypto asset service providers (CASPs) to collect and share information with other crypto asset service providers and financial institutions that you engage with. The objective of the tougher regulations is to improve transparency in business and provide greater safeguards for consumers.
All regulated CASP entities in South Africa MUST comply with evolving local and global AML and CTF requirements.
What the Travel Rule Means to Users
From April 30 2025, users will be prompted to enter the necessary information when initiating any crypto withdrawal.
🇿🇦 REGULATION | Binance Tightens Crypto Rules for South Africans with New Transfer Requirements@BinanceAfrica enforces stricter crypto rules in South Africa, boosts global compliance, and launches new features like Alpha Points and Worldpay integrationhttps://t.co/85DRZnjg5n pic.twitter.com/SP0TXdyO31
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 28, 2025
As the Travel Rule applies to all withdrawal amounts, regardless of value, the required information must be provided each time – unless the address is saved to your Address Book.
The required information includes:
- Sender’s full name and account number (or wallet address)
- Recipient’s full name and account number (or wallet address)
- Transaction amount
Set to go live at the end of April 2025, the Travel Rule forces crypto exchanges and wallet providers to collect and share identity info on any transaction over R5,000 (~$270). While the goal is clear – combatting money laundering and terrorism financing – the cost of compliance could crush smaller crypto firms.
🇿🇦REGULATION | Is Regulation Slowing Down South Africa’s Crypto Momentum?
Brent Petersen from the Crypto Asset Association of South Africa ( #CaaSA ) weighs in on what’s helping – and hurting – the local crypto scene.https://t.co/ZFIFdRjQ3x @Moneyweb @brentpetersen pic.twitter.com/m0XrMNLmOb
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 9, 2025
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