The Travel Rule Protocol working group’s solution uses two simple RESTful APIs designed for querying address ownership and sending required originator and beneficiary information about digital asset transfers.
The Travel Rule Protocol (TRP), a working group backed by Standard Chartered, Fidelity, ING, and about 22 other firms involved in cryptocurrency transactions has unveiled an Anti-Money Laundering tool dubbed TRP API version 1.0.0. According to Coindesk, the TRP API version 1.0.0 from the Travel Rule Protocol working group is aimed at helping every firm, ranging from banks to crypto exchanges and others that are collectively known as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rule on sending AML data known as the Travel Rule.
FATF Travel Rule requires Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) such as cryptocurrency exchanges, digital wallet providers, and even some financial institutions including banks dealing with crypto assets, to ensure that certain customer data is disclosed and transferred between counterparties as a part of the cryptocurrency transaction. The TRP API is a tool designed to enable firms particularly the Travel Rule Protocol working group members meet with this regulatory obligation.
“The impetus for the TRP API was a desire by the working group to ensure an easy path to Travel Rule compliance, as well as communications standardization and interoperability for VASPs around the world,” Maxime de Guillebon of SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation unit, said in a statement.
How the Travel Rule Protocol TRP API Version 1.0.0 Works
With the FATF more determined than ever to clamp down on illicit crypto transactions, the Travel Rule Protocol working group’s solution uses two simple RESTful APIs, designed for querying address ownership and sending required originator and beneficiary information about digital asset transfers.
According to the BC Group Chief Executive Officer Hugh Madden, the TRP API release builds on the widely-adopted InterVASP Messaging Standard (IVMS-101). Madden further noted that:
“The TRP working group and API is about how you allow VASPs to share that [IVMS-101] data. A RESTful API is the world standard for integrating business systems. It’s lightweight, well understood, and very interoperable. There’s no need to join any expensive industry associations or invest in vendor solutions, and it’s not an overly complicated technical implementation.”
The TRP release hopes to stick to the concept of decentralization in its approach while helping to maximize user experience as best as possible. The release has earned accolades from industry experts including those from the working group.
“We’re excited for the future as TRP is scalable in the financial sector while maximizing interoperability with other emerging Travel Rule solutions,” Hervé Francois, blockchain initiative lead at ING bank and Pyctor CEO said in a statement. He also added that they “are implementing the TRP protocol in Pyctor and looking forward to driving the ecosystem adoption even further.”
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