Travel Rule compliance

Ripple Custody integrates with Notabene to enable Travel Rule compliance for digital asset transfers. This integration automates the exchange of required customer information between Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) during transactions.

When you send or receive digital assets above certain thresholds, regulators require you to exchange customer information with the counterparty. This is the Travel Rule — FATF Recommendation 16 — and it applies to VASPs globally.

Without Travel Rule compliance:

• Transactions may be blocked or delayed by counterparties
• Your organization risks regulatory penalties
• You cannot operate in jurisdictions with strict Travel Rule enforcement

Ripple Custody handles this automatically through its Notabene integration, so your transactions flow smoothly while meeting regulatory requirements.

A VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) is any business providing custody, exchange, or transfer services for digital assets. VASPs must exchange customer information for transactions above regulatory thresholds.

Notabene operates a global network connecting VASPs for Travel Rule compliance. When you send assets to another VASP on the network, Notabene facilitates the secure exchange of required information. Your organization is identified on this network by a DID (Decentralized Identifier)—a unique identifier like did:web:your-domain.com.

Customer information is exchanged using the IVMS-101 standard (Inter-VASP Messaging Standard). This includes:

• Natural persons: Name, address, date of birth
• Legal entities: Business name, registration number, address
• Account information: Wallet addresses, account identifiers

Customer data (PII) must be encrypted before transmission. You have two options:

• Plaintext submission: Submit PII in IVMS-101 format and Notabene encrypts it
• Pre-encrypted submission: Encrypt PII yourself using Notabene's hybrid encryption (AES-256-GCM + RSA-2048/ECIES) for end-to-end encryption

Ripple Custody does not store or encrypt PII.

Travel Rule compliance integrates with existing transaction workflows in Ripple Custody:

For outgoing transactions:

1. Create a Travel Rule message with counterparty information
2. Create a transfer intent using the returned suggestedIntentId
3. System runs screening and Travel Rule checks in parallel
4. If PII is required, you submit it via the API
5. Transaction executes when both checks pass

For incoming transactions:

1. Indexer detects incoming transfer
2. Funds are quarantined pending compliance checks
3. System notifies the originating VASP via Notabene
4. Transaction releases when checks pass

Ripple Custody evaluates both risk screening and Travel Rule results. The strictest outcome determines the final decision:

For tokens, use the format: {chain}/erc20:{contractAddress} (ERC-20), solana:mainnet/spl:{address} (SPL), or stellar:pubnet/asset:{code}:{issuer} (Stellar).

1. Register with Notabene — Complete VASP registration and KYB verification
2. Configure credentials — Provide your Notabene API credentials to your Ripple partner engineer
3. Register addresses — Wallet addresses are registered with Notabene

For detailed setup instructions, see Travel Rule setup.

For transaction workflows with API examples, see Travel Rule API.

• Transaction screening: Configure risk thresholds with Chainalysis or Elliptic
• Compliance overview: How screening and Travel Rule work together
• Policies: Create governance policies for compliance workflows