Taiwan's FSC revises the Travel Rule provisions in its AML rules for virtual asset service providers
The FSC's 20 Oct 2026 order adds information duties above thirty thousand New Taiwan dollars and leaves the scope and timetable to the VASP association, with FSC approval.
Summary
- FSC amended VASP anti-money laundering rules on 20 Oct 2026
- FSC says Travel Rule covers transfers of any value
- More information required above thirty thousand New Taiwan dollars
- Receiving VASPs must check beneficiary details above that value
- VASP association sets scope and timetable, with FSC approval
What happened
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) of Taiwan issued an order on 20 Oct 2026 that amends three articles, including Article 7 and Article 18, of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The order is numbered 金管證券字第1150384529號. The FSC published the order and a press release in Chinese. The English wording in this story is Anvesan's translation.
The FSC said the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommends that national authorities promote Travel Rule mechanisms. It said it reached consensus with the VASP trade association (中華民國虛擬通貨商業同業公會) after several discussions and planned to roll out the Travel Rule in phases. The FSC said it drafted the amendment with reference to FATF's revised Recommendation 16 and its interpretive note, and that the amendment completed its regulatory pre-announcement and was issued on 20 Oct 2026. The amendment is final.
What changed
The FSC said a VASP must apply the Travel Rule to every transfer, whatever its value. It calls this a "threshold-enhanced" information collection mechanism.
When a transfer is worth more than thirty thousand New Taiwan dollars (新臺幣3萬元), the VASP must obtain additional information, which depends on whether the originator and the beneficiary are natural or legal persons. For an originator who is a natural person, that includes the date of birth and the residential address. For an originator that is a legal person, it includes the official identification number and the address of the place of registration.
The amendment adds a duty for the receiving VASP. Above the same value, the receiving VASP must check the beneficiary information the sending VASP provides against the customer information it holds.
Who is affected
The FSC said that after the regulations are issued, it will implement the Travel Rule for virtual asset transfers between VASPs in Taiwan. It said that in future a customer who transfers virtual assets through a VASP to another domestic VASP must provide the information Article 7 requires, and the VASP may carry out the transfer only after it obtains that information and provides it to the receiving VASP.
What happens next
A new paragraph in Article 18 provides that the amended provisions take effect from the date of issue. The retained first paragraph of Article 18 still provides that the FSC sets the effective date of Article 7 separately. The text does not say how the two paragraphs apply to the amended Article 7. Under the amended Article 7, the VASP trade association sets the scope and timetable of the article's first three paragraphs and submits them to the FSC for approval. The FSC said system connections and operational adjustments between VASPs in Taiwan and abroad need time. Neither document dates any phase.
Anvesan view
The amendment is final, but neither FSC document gives a date when the new Article 7 duties start to bind VASPs. That timing turns on the association's FSC-approved scope and timetable, and on how Article 18 applies to Article 7.
Official source
Source: Financial Supervisory Commission, Taiwan (FSC), order, published 20 Oct 2026.
Published