What kind of information might be obscured in payment messages to facilitate circumvention?

The correct answer highlights the importance of sender and receiver identities in payment messages. In many transactions, particularly in scenarios involving illicit activities or attempts to evade regulatory scrutiny, obscuring the identities of the individuals or entities involved can be a strategy to facilitate circumvention of laws and regulations. By hiding who is sending or receiving funds, it becomes challenging for authorities to trace the transaction back to the parties involved, thus increasing the potential for money laundering, fraud, or other illegal activities.

In contrast, while transaction amounts, payment dates, and currency types can provide insight into a transaction's nature, they can often be determined through other means and may not necessarily compromise the identities as directly. Therefore, obscuring the identities provides a stronger layer of anonymity and circumvention that can be utilized to avoid detection and accountability.