On October 23, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Federal Reserve Board published a proposed rule amending the Bank Secrecy Act. On its sole authority, FinCEN proposed amendments to the travel rule, while the Federal Reserve and FinCEN jointly proposed changes to the recordkeeping provisions of the BSA.
Specifically, the proposed rule would lower to $250 the thresholds for the retention of information regarding funds transfers originating or ending outside the US, and for the transmission of information about funds transfers beginning or ending outside of the US to other financial institutions in the payment chain of information. The threshold for these requirements currently stands at $3,000.
The new rule would also clarify the meaning of “money” to include convertible virtual currency that acts as a substitute for currency but lacks legal tender status, as well as to transactions involving digital assets that do have legal tender status.
The rule will be finalized following a thirty-day comment period.
FinCEN press release | Federal Reserve press release | Proposed Amendments