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      [HT MENA] Travel Rule & Declaring Transactions

      What is Travel Rule?
      Additional Required Information
      Withdrawal Declaration Process
      Deposit Declaration Process

      Travel Rule for clients onboarded under Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

      1. What is the Travel Rule?

      The Travel Rule is a global compliance standard designed to ensure transparency in virtual asset transactions. It mandates that Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) collect & store information about the originator (sender) and beneficiary (receiver) for transactions exceeding a specific threshold.

      In the MENA region under Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), any transfer of Virtual Assets exceeding AED 3,500 must meet these requirements:

      • For Withdrawals: VASPs must collect and store accurate originator and beneficiary details before initiating the transfer.
      • For Deposits: VASPs must obtain and verify originator and beneficiary details before granting clients access to the received Virtual Assets.

      2. Additional Required Information
      The minimum required originator information should include the following: 
      • Name
      • Wallet Address / Account Number
      • Residential or Business Address
      The minimum required beneficiary information should include the following:
      • Name
      • Wallet Address / Account Number

      3. Withdrawal Declaration Process

      When initiating a withdrawal exceeding AED 3,500, follow these steps to declare the required details:

      1. If the enterprise has saved an individual or company under the Counterparty Book with the required additional information and blockchain address:
        • In the withdrawal step: The user will be prompted to select the specific individual or company saved.
        • The user will be able to view the saved information.
        • The user will be able to instruct the withdrawal.
        • If the enterprise has saved an individual or company and its blockchain address under the Counterparty Book but is missing the required additional information:
        • In the withdrawal step: The user will be prompted to select the specific individual or company saved. 
        • The user will be able to view the saved information and add the relevant required information. 
          1. We do advise our users to save this information in the Counterparty Book prior instead of inputting this information while doing the withdrawal.
        • The user will be able to instruct the withdrawal. 
      2. If the enterprise has not saved an individual or company under the Counterparty Book for withdrawal to a new address: 
        • In the withdrawal step, the user will proceed as normal.
        • The user will be prompted to input the originator and beneficiary information and required additional information:
          1. if the enterprise is a non-intermediary institution, the orginator VASP will be Hex Trust and the orginator will be the enterprises "Own Profile" 
          2. If the enterprise is an intermediary institution, the originator VASP and originator fields will be flexible for the user to input the required information. 
        • The user will be able to tick the box “save counterparty on the fly”
        • The user will be able to instruct the withdrawal 
        • This will prompt two approvals: 
          1. Instruction of the withdrawal 
          2. Instruction to save counterparty information and blockchain address 2.

      4. Deposit Declaration Process

      For deposits exceeding AED 3,500, the following steps must be completed:

      1. Locate the Transaction:
        • Go to the "Active Transactions" tab and locate the deposit transaction.
        • If the individual or company is saved in the counterparty book and the additional required information is provided, there is no further action required from the enterprise. 
        • If the individual or company’s blockchain address is saved in the counterparty book and is missing additional required information OR the individual or company blockchain address is not saved in the counterparty book….
          1. The user must click "Pending Originator and Beneficiary Information."
      2. Input the correct information: 
        • Given the situation where the individual or company’s information is saved along with the relevant blockchain address in the counterparty book and is missing the required information: 
          1. The user will be prompted to input the required information
        • Given the situation where the individual or company’s information is not saved in the counterparty book along with the relevant blockchain address…. 
            1. The user will be prompted to input the beneficiary and originator information and additional required information. 
            2. The user will be able to save the originator information on the fly by selecting the box “save counterparty on the fly”.

              1.   This step will trigger an approval to save the counterparty information and blockchain address. 
        • Complete the Declaration:
          • Click "Continue" to finalize the declaration process.