Financial news

Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification and compliance provider, has completed the integration of its Travel Rule solution with Binance, the crypto exchange platform, through the Global Travel Rule (GTR) Alliance.

Sumsub hopes to support Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), financial institutions, and fintech companies involved in crypto transactions in validating transaction data when working with Binance, via the integration.

The new integrated solution will look to provide access to a large ecosystem of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) who are participants of Sumsub Travel Rule ecosystem, as well as financial institutions and fintech companies involved in crypto transactions to ensure secure transaction data validation when dealing with Binance entities which in total encompass over 183 million users.

By leveraging Sumsub’s crypto expertise and cutting-edge technologies, the companies are building interoperability to address the so-called sunrise issue, which is the biggest challenge in the crypto compliance space – namely, that the counterparties are not reachable due to the fact that not all VASPs become obliged to adhere to the Travel Rule requirements.

Steve Christie, deputy chief compliance officer at Binance, commented: “Global Travel Rule Alliance is an exciting step forward in solidifying our international compliance efforts.

“We’re particularly enthusiastic about the ability it gives us to consolidate our efforts globally, moving past the challenge of fragmented regional integrations. This move doesn’t just bring us into alignment with FATF’s global standards – it’s about proactively providing our extensive user base with the assurance that their data and transactions are secure. This alliance amplifies the trust, security, and transparency that our users can expect at Binance.”

With a focus on global interoperability, regulatory assurance, and market credibility, the partnership is a giant step towards ensuring streamlined and interconnected cryptocurrency transactions.

Ensuring interoperability in the crypto space

Founded in 2017, Binance has been among Sumsub’s clients since 2021. In March 2023, Sumsub benchmarked the crypto industry by launching its protocol-agnostic Travel Rule solution, offering a full compliance toolkit across the whole customer lifecycle.

Jacob Sever, co-founder and chief innovation officer at Sumsub, explained the importance of the development: “Integrating with Global Travel Rule Alliance is a significant milestone for us, underscoring the importance of collaboration in the crypto space. The integration of the GTR protocol with Sumsub’s Travel Rule solution is a major advancement in ensuring interoperability and addressing the sunrise issue.

“By enabling seamless interaction between members of both ecosystems, this partnership not only enhances the infrastructure of the global crypto ecosystem but also fosters trust both within and outside the industry. Looking forward, Sumsub is empowered to work toward natively integrating other protocols into its Travel Rule solution in the future.”

In October 2023, Sumsub analysed over 800,000 fraud attempts and millions of verification checks within the crypto sector between 2022 and 2023 and surveyed over 100 crypto companies. It released its findings in its ‘State of Verification and Monitoring in the Crypto Industry 2023‘ report. According to its findings, Travel Rule remains one of the two main challenges for crypto companies worldwide, the other one being more advanced fraud methods such as AI-generated deepfakes.