18 June 2025

Changes to FATF Standards

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has today streamlined international requirements that will increase the safety and security of cross-border payments to better detect financial crime. 

The changes to Recommendation 16 of the FATF standard, also referred to as the 'Travel Rule' in the context of virtual assets, were agreed by members at the FATF's June 2025 Plenary meeting. They will ensure consistency of information required in payment messages to build a clearer picture of who is sending and receiving money, and help to eliminate fraud and error impacting customers.

The FATF Recommendations set out a comprehensive and consistent framework of measures which countries should implement in order to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Financial fraud is one of the fastest growing threats on a global scale. The changes to Recommendation 16 will add a critical safety net to the international payment system by increasing transparency of information that accompanies cross-border payments and requiring the introduction of tools to protect against fraud and error. 

Through the revised Standards, the FATF is ensuring that anti-money laundering defences keep pace with the fact that many different actors, such as fin-techs and digital payment systems, are now performing tasks that only a few – traditional banks – did in the past.  

The changes aim to support the G20 roadmap of making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive. They have been informed by two public consultations which gathered more than 300 responses from financial institutions, industry associations, civil society, practitioners, international organisations and public authorities.

The changes to the Standards include:

• Clarifying responsibilities within the payment chain 
  By clarifying who is responsible in the payment chain for including information in payment messages and ensuring it remains unchanged, the changes will improve accuracy and ensure investigators know where to go to find information, supporting secure payments. Under the new Standard, the payment chain is considered to start with the financial institution which receives an instruction from the customer.
• Standardised information requirements 
  The FATF is applying standardised requirements on what information should accompany the payment messages for peer-to-peer cross-border payments above USD/EUR 1,000 (name, address, date of birth). This will simplify requirements for the private sector, and  make payments more efficient. It will also bring more clarity to who is sending and receiving money, making it easier to detect suspicious transactions.
• Requirements to introduce tools that protect against fraud and error 
  The new Standards will require financial institutions to make use of new technologies that protect against fraud and error, such as verification of recipients' banking information, so that customers can have peace of mind that their money is going to the right place. Such technologies are already in place in parts of the world. 
• Clarification on card transactions
  Transactions carried out using a credit, debit, or prepaid card for the purchase of goods or services continue to be exempt from full R.16 requirements, but clarifications have been made to define the scope of “purchase of goods and services”

The changes will come into effect by the end of 2030, and the FATF will produce guidance and continue to engage with the private sector to help industry prepare for the changes.

Read more in the updated FATF Recommendations and explanatory note.

Watch the video explaining these changes.