#Bank Secrecy Act
The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, is a law passed by Congress in 1970. It requires financial institutions to report certain types of monetary transactions to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The purpose of this act is to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, fraud and other financial crimes.
Under the BSA:
1) Banks must keep records on all customer accounts; including deposits, withdrawals or transfers for more than $10,000 per day;
2) Report suspicious activity that may be related to money laundering or criminal activities; 3) Comply with government requests for information about customers’ accounts if necessary; 4) Obtain identification from customers opening new accounts ; 5) File reports involving currency transactions over $10K with FinCEN via Form 8300s . 6 ) Develop an anti-money laundering program which includes procedures such as employee training and independent audits . 7 ) Disclose beneficial ownership information when applicable .
For individuals using cryptocurrency , it’s important to understand how these regulations apply since cryptocurrencies are now classified as “monetary instruments” under the Bank Secrecy Act. This means that any transaction exceeding US$ 10 000 needs to be reported through appropriate forms such as IRS 8938 Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets or FBAR 11320A Report Of Foreign Bank And Financial Accounts form depending on what type of asset was used during the transaction – digital currencies , physical cash etc.. Additionally some crypto exchanges have implemented KYC/AML protocols which require users provide personal data before trading can take place – so don’t forget you need bring your driving licence ID / passport etc when signing up at one!
