The OpenVASP Association, whose goal is to facilitate robust compliance with global Travel Rule requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), announces the launch of the interVASP Messaging Standard (IVMS) validator to help VASPs to comply with the Travel Rule.
This is an important step for the global implementation of the FATF’s Travel Rule for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and a significant achievement for the adoption of harmonized standards of communication for the virtual assets community.
The FATF Travel Rule
Since the introduction of the Travel Rule by the FATF in June 2019, the crypto industry has attempted to find ways to enable compliance while preserving a smooth user experience. The Travel Rule, which has been in existence in the traditional finance world for decades, relates to the exchange of information on originator and beneficiary for any virtual asset transfers carried out on behalf of an originator with the view of making virtual assets available to a beneficiary.
Different initiatives had been launched to define standards for compliance as well as protocols to allow the automatic exchange of required information between Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and “obliged entities”.
Clearly defined standards
As a result of these various initiatives, there was a need for general standards. The creation of the IVMS 101 standard has been a key milestone toward global compliance with the Travel Rule. It was defined by interVASP working group as the first standard to receive general consensus from across the wider crypto-asset and blockchain industry. IVMS 101 provides a data model for use in transmitting required originator and beneficiary information. It is designed for use primarily by VASPs and Travel Rule solution providers and figures as part of all major Travel Rule protocols, including OpenVASP, TRP, TRISA, USTRWG, and Sygna.
“We are strongly committed to interoperability between Travel Rule protocols for digital assets. Our IVMS Validator demonstrates this in a very practical way.” - David Riegelnig, President of the OpenVASP Association
As an active and driving force in the development of open solutions for Travel Rule Compliance it was important for OpenVASP and its members to take steps to support the wider adoption of IVMS 101. However, the lack of a validator to check the compatibility of different IVMS implementations led to incompatibility between the different implementations. Fields to be transmitted from one entity to the other should be identical to ensure full interoperability.
To overcome this challenge, the OpenVASP Association created a web service that provides validation of IVMS 101 JSON to everyone. The technical implementation of the service was done by 21 Analytics. Additionally, the OpenVASP Association partnered with XReg and the InterVASP joint working group to move the IVMS 101 standard to a public markdown to foster collaboration across the industry.
