Last reviewed: 8 November 2026 · Regulatory Gate · General information, not legal advice

Short answer. The Travel Rule requires virtual asset service providers to collect identifying information about the sender and the recipient of a transfer, and to pass it along with the transfer. In the UAE, it applies to VASPs across the federal and emirate regimes, the free zones and the financial free zones (CBUAE Rulebook).

Where it comes from

The rule began as the FATF standard for bank wire transfers, Recommendation 16. In 2019, the FATF extended it to virtual asset service providers through its Interpretive Note to Recommendation 15 (FATF). In the UAE, the Travel Rule rests on Cabinet Decision No. 134 of 2025, which implements Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 on anti-money laundering (CBUAE Rulebook).

What must travel

  • For both parties: full names, and wallet or account numbers. Without an account number, a unique reference must make the transfer traceable.
  • For the sender also: address, national identity or travel document number, customer identification number, and date and place of birth.
  • For batched transfers: the same data for each underlying transfer.

These requirements come from Article 1 of the UAE Travel Rule (CBUAE Rulebook).

The AED 3,500 threshold

  • At or above AED 3,500 a day: the receiving VASP must verify the recipient's identity if it has not already done so.
  • Below AED 3,500: the data must still travel, but its validity need not be verified unless there is suspicion of a crime (CBUAE Rulebook).
  • For Dubai VASPs: VARA's Compliance and Risk Management Rulebook sets the same AED 3,500 line. The sending VASP must hold the data before it initiates a transfer, and the receiving VASP before it gives the client access (VARA Rulebook).

Unhosted wallets

Before sending to or receiving from a self-hosted wallet, a VASP must apply enhanced due diligence, including source-of-funds checks. If a client asks to send to an unhosted wallet and will not provide the missing data, the VASP must decline the transfer (CBUAE Rulebook).

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