Over the past decade, the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) has become the global benchmark for the automatic exchange of financial account information. Inspired by FATCA, CRS has been adopted by more than 100 jurisdictions, with financial institutions reporting non-resident account data annually to their local tax authorities for exchange with foreign tax administrations. Its core goal is clear: make cross-border tax evasion far more difficult.
Yet the financial world has changed dramatically since CRS launched in 2014. Crypto-assets, stablecoins, e-money and digital platforms barely existed in the original framework. After ten years of implementation, gaps, inconsistencies and administrative burdens have become obvious. This is where the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and “CRS 2.0” come in. Together they modernise tax transparency for the digital era.
What CARF Does
CARF is the first multilateral standard for automatic exchange of information on crypto-asset transactions. It covers exchanges, brokers, wallet providers and other intermediaries, and captures both crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto trades, as well as certain transfers between wallets. It is designed to complement CRS 2.0 and avoid duplication where accounts or products are already reported under CRS.
What CRS 2.0 Changes
CRS 2.0 aligns with CARF and closes the biggest gaps in the original CRS. E-money, prepaid cards, mobile money, digital wallets and indirect crypto-asset exposure (such as funds or structured products investing in crypto) are explicitly brought into scope. New due diligence requirements demand more detailed self-certifications, additional data points (multiple TINs, place of birth, controlling persons) and much broader plausibility checks against KYC and transaction data. Account closures, wallet addresses and other identifiers will also have to be reported to improve matching across jurisdictions.
Why This Matters for Service Providers
The implementation timeline is tight: CARF was published in 2022, with data collection in many jurisdictions starting in 2026 and first reporting in 2027. Many jurisdictions are still drafting domestic laws, but the EU has already transposed the OECD changes into its DAC8 directive. Other major markets – from the U.S. to Singapore, Australia and the GCC – are preparing similar rules.
For financial institutions, crypto-asset service providers and fintechs, this means system upgrades, new data collection processes, and much more intensive onboarding, due diligence and monitoring. Privacy and data protection issues must also be managed carefully.
Bottom Line
CARF and CRS 2.0 are not minor tweaks – they close the loopholes left by the first generation of CRS and extend automatic exchange to the fast-growing world of crypto and digital finance. Any institution handling cross-border accounts, crypto-assets or digital wallets will need to build the capacity to comply. Preparation now – from gap analysis to technology readiness and customer communication – is essential to avoid penalties and stay ahead of regulators.