Legal & compliance
AML/KYC policy.
Our commitment to anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorism-financing and know-your-customer standards.
On this page
Introduction
Sparq is committed to maintaining the highest standards of Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance. This policy aligns with guidance issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other major financial regulators.
We aim to provide secure, legal and compliant card services while respecting the privacy rights of our users.
01
Scope of policy
This policy applies to all users, partners and service providers, and to activities related to:
- USDT deposits on TRC20, ERC20 and BEP20
- Card top-ups
- Virtual card issuance
- On-chain wallet transactions
- Platform usage, including referral rewards
02
KYC requirements
2.1 When KYC is required
We require identity verification in the following cases:
- Card issuance in regulated jurisdictions — three of our four BINs require eKYC
- Exceeding spending or deposit limits
- Triggering suspicious activity alerts
- Requesting card replacement
- Regulatory changes in your country
2.2 What we collect
We may request:
- Government-issued ID or passport
- Proof of address, such as a utility bill or lease
- A selfie with your document, for a liveness check
- Optionally, source of funds in high-risk cases
2.3 Verification process
- KYC is conducted via licensed third-party verification providers
- Identity checks are processed in minutes, through encrypted systems
- Manual review may be required in some jurisdictions
The KYC-free card
One BIN — the Lite Mastercard, 558325 — does not require eKYC. It carries the narrowest platform list of the four.
03
AML controls
3.1 Transaction monitoring
We use automated tools such as Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs to assess wallet behaviour and transaction history. We flag:
- Addresses linked to sanctioned entities
- Funds traced to mixers, tumblers or darknet markets
- Transactions from high-risk jurisdictions
3.2 Enhanced due diligence
EDD is triggered when:
- Deposits exceed legal thresholds
- A wallet is flagged as high-risk
- Card behaviour appears suspicious
- Funds originate from anonymising tools
In those cases we may request further documents on source of funds, temporarily suspend or limit account functionality, or deny service if compliance cannot be confirmed.
3.3 Sanctions and blacklists
We comply with international sanctions lists, including:
Immediate denial
Users from sanctioned countries, or found on these blacklists, are denied access immediately.
04
Data storage and privacy
All KYC and AML data is:
- Encrypted with AES-256 or stronger
- Stored on GDPR-compliant servers
- Accessible only to authorised compliance personnel
We do not sell or share your identity data with marketers. See the Privacy Policyfor the full picture.
05
Reporting obligations
Where required, we will file:
- Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
- Transaction Threshold Reports (TTRs)
- Regulatory reports to card issuers and compliance partners
No notification
We may not notify you when such a report is submitted, in line with global AML best practice.
06
Your rights
You may:
- Request a copy of the data we hold about you
- Request correction or update of your KYC information
- Request deletion, subject to legal retention limits
- Appeal a decision made on AML/KYC risk scoring
Compliance contact
07
Updates
This policy is updated regularly to reflect new crypto regulations and risk factors. The date at the top of this page is the version you are reading.
Questions about compliance?
Our compliance team can walk you through any of this. Related: Terms, Privacy and the restricted merchant list.