Colombia’s Financial Superintendence presented a project that seeks to bring clarity to how the relationship between banks and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) will be handled in the future. The document defines some key concepts and sets out a set of prerequisites that banks need to verify before accepting virtual asset service providers as customers.
Virtual asset service providers to be regulated in Colombia
Regulation is becoming a major target for LATAM countries, where cryptocurrency adoption is increasing at significant rates. Now, Colombia’s Financial Superintendence has submitted a document that attempts to establish criteria regarding requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges and custody providers must meet in order to be serviced by banks as customers. The project defines key concepts such as virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and virtual assets within the scope of regulation.
In the same way, it establishes that virtual asset service providers must be linked to the UIAF, Colombia’s Office of Financial Intelligence, and have an action plan to combat money laundering and terrorism financing efforts potentially using them. can be done. platform.
The project also makes an indirect reference to compliance with the travel rule promoted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It states that banks must verify these VASPs:
Technical and operational capability to monitor transactions with virtual assets, as well as to obtain, protect and disseminate originator and beneficiary information of each transaction.
more requirements
The proposal establishes that VASPs shall be able to present clear information to their customers about the services they provide and the risks associated with these services, the costs associated with these services and the virtual assets held on their platforms.
VASPs will also have a plan in place to address operational and cyber security-related risks to handle potential hacks or platform issues that could affect how their services are delivered to their customers. Also, banks will have an obligation to separate their responsibilities from VASPs, conveying to customers that only they and these platforms are responsible for VASP related problems.
The proposal also establishes restrictions regarding investments. It says:
Supervised entities authorized to capture resources through deposit products or funds should ensure that deposits and withdrawals of resources in financial products of deposits or funds in the name of VASPs are conducted through face-to-face channels only. Is.
The proposal is still in the discussion stages, and the financial superintendent will receive suggestions on it by August 12.
What do you think about the VASP regulation proposal in Colombia? Tell us in the comments section below.
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