The International Monetary Fund has urged Kenya to require crypto companies to collect and share customer information during digital asset transfers. The proposal would bring Kenya closer to the Financial Action Task Force’s Travel Rule, an anti-money-laundering standard used to trace suspicious crypto transactions.
Under the plan, virtual asset service providers would need to pass identifying details about both the sender and receiver to the receiving platform and, where required, to Kenya’s Financial Reporting Centre. The IMF says the change would close a major gap in Kenya’s crypto rules
What the Travel Rule means
The Travel Rule is an international standard developed by the Financial Action Task Force, the global body that sets anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing rules. It requires crypto service providers to collect, verify, and transmit customer information when transferring virtual assets
For a transfer between two exchanges, the sending platform must share the sender’s details with the receiving platform at the time of the transfer, or beforehand. The receiving platform must also obtain the beneficiary’s name, account reference, and wallet address.
The information can include a customer’s full name, physical address, national ID number, account reference, and the wallet addresses involved. This allows the receiving exchange to screen the sender against sanctions lists and assess whether the transfer may be linked to financial crime.
Why Kenya is being urged to act
The IMF says Kenya currently has a significant gap in meeting FATF requirements for information exchange during crypto transfers. Its recommendations say crypto-asset service providers should be legally required to obtain, store, and securely transmit originator and beneficiary information.
Kenya’s existing rules mainly require firms to keep records and provide them when authorities request them. The IMF argues that this is not enough because receiving firms cannot always screen incoming transfers before processing them.t
The IMF wants the requirement added to Kenya’s recently published Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations or another suitable legal instrument without delay. It also says the Financial Reporting Centre is already revising the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act regulations to include the requirement.
How the data would be used
If Kenya adopts the rule, crypto firms would share customer data among themselves and with the Financial Reporting Centre, the country’s financial intelligence unit. The goal is to make it easier to identify suspicious transactions and trace the people behind them..
For example, if a user sends crypto from one Kenyan exchange to another, the first platform would transmit the sender’s verified details to the second. The receiving exchange could then decide whether the transaction meets its compliance requirements before accepting the funds.
This system is designed to help authorities detect money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, and other financial crimes. It also gives exchanges a clearer way to identify the source of incoming funds.
What it means for Kenyan crypto users
If the rules are introduced, Kenyan crypto users may need to provide more identity information before sending or receiving digital assets through regulated platforms. This could include their legal name, physical address, national ID number, and wallet address.
The change would likely affect exchanges, custodians, and other virtual asset service providers operating in Kenya. Peer-to-peer transfers between private wallets may still be possible, but moving funds through regulated platforms could involve additional identity checks.
The key trade-off is privacy. Stronger data sharing can help authorities investigate crime, but it also means more personal information is collected, stored, and transmitted by crypto companies.
Kenya’s wider crypto rules
The IMF’s recommendation comes as Kenya prepares to license crypto firms under its Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, passed in October 2025. The IMF reviewed draft regulations that will support the law following a mission to Nairobi in May.
Kenya’s crypto market is growing, but regulators face familiar challenges: consumer protection, stablecoin risks, cybercrime, and financial-crime prevention. The IMF says the Travel Rule would strengthen investigations, sanctions compliance, and the detection of suspicious activity.
The proposal also aligns Kenya with a broader global shift. The FATF’s July 2026 review found that 83% of surveyed jurisdictions had passed Travel Rule legislation, up from 73% a year earlier.
What happens next
The IMF’s advice is not yet law. Kenya’s government and regulators would need to incorporate the Travel Rule into the VASP regulations or another legal framework before crypto firms must comply.
If adopted, crypto companies would need to build stronger identity-verification systems, secure data-sharing processes, and compliance controls. Users should expect more questions before transfers, especially when moving funds between exchanges.
For Kenya’s crypto sector, the proposal signals a move toward tighter oversight rather than a hands-off approach. The government will need to balance crime prevention with data protection and ensure that smaller firms can meet the new compliance burden.
