391
Monetary Offices, Treasury § 103.22
by this section or made voluntarily)
shall be protected from liability for
any disclosure contained in, or for fail-
ure to disclose the fact of, such report,
or both, to the extent provided by 31
U.S.C. 5318(g)(3).
(f) Compliance. Compliance with this
section shall be audited by the Depart-
ment of the Treasury, through FinCEN
or its delegees, under the terms of the
Bank Secrecy Act. Failure to satisfy
the requirements of this section may
constitute a violation of the reporting
rules of the Bank Secrecy Act and of
this part.
(g) Effective date. This section applies
to transactions occurring after March
25, 2003.
[67 FR 60729, Sept. 26, 2002]
§ 103.22 Reports of transactions in cur-
rency.
(a) General. This section sets forth
the rules for the reporting by financial
institutions of transactions in cur-
rency. The reporting obligations them-
selves are stated in paragraph (b) of
this section. The reporting rules relat-
ing to aggregation are stated in para-
graph (c) of this section. Rules permit-
ting banks to exempt certain trans-
actions from the reporting obligations
appear in paragraph (d) of this section.
(b) Filing obligations—(1) Financial in-
stitutions other than casinos. Each finan-
cial institution other than a casino
shall file a report of each deposit, with-
drawal, exchange of currency or other
payment or transfer, by, through, or to
such financial institution which in-
volves a transaction in currency of
more than $10,000, except as otherwise
provided in this section. In the case of
the Postal Service, the obligation con-
tained in the preceding sentence shall
not apply to payments or transfers
made solely in connection with the
purchase of postage or philatelic prod-
ucts.
(2) Casinos. Each casino shall file a
report of each transaction in currency,
involving either cash in or cash out, of
more than $10,000.
(i) Transactions in currency involv-
ing cash in include, but are not limited
to:
(A) Purchases of chips, tokens, and
plaques;
(B) Front money deposits;
(C) Safekeeping deposits;
(D) Payments on any form of credit,
including markers and counter checks;
(E) Bets of currency;
(F) Currency received by a casino for
transmittal of funds through wire
transfer for a customer;
(G) Purchases of a casino’s check;
and
(H) Exchanges of currency for cur-
rency, including foreign currency.
(ii) Transactions in currency involv-
ing cash out include, but are not lim-
ited to:
(A) Redemptions of chips, tokens,
and plaques;
(B) Front money withdrawals;
(C) Safekeeping withdrawals;
(D) Advances on any form of credit,
including markers and counter checks;
(E) Payments on bets, including slot
jackpots;
(F) Payments by a casino to a cus-
tomer based on receipt of funds
through wire transfer for credit to a
customer;
(G) Cashing of checks or other nego-
tiable instruments;
(H) Exchanges of currency for cur-
rency, including foreign currency; and
(I) Reimbursements for customers’
travel and entertainment expenses by
the casino.
(c) Aggregation—(1) Multiple branches.
A financial institution includes all of
its domestic branch offices, and any
recordkeeping facility, wherever lo-
cated, that contains records relating to
the transactions of the institution’s
domestic offices, for purposes of this
section’s reporting requirements.
(2) Multiple transactions—general. In
the case of financial institutions other
than casinos, for purposes of this sec-
tion, multiple currency transactions
shall be treated as a single transaction
if the financial institution has knowl-
edge that they are by or on behalf of
any person and result in either cash in
or cash out totaling more than $10,000
during any one business day (or in the
case of the Postal Service, any one
day). Deposits made at night or over a
weekend or holiday shall be treated as
if received on the next business day fol-
lowing the deposit.
(3) Multiple transactions—casinos. In
the case of a casino, multiple currency
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392
31 CFR Ch. I (7–1–06 Edition) § 103.22
transactions shall be treated as a sin-
gle transaction if the casino has knowl-
edge that they are by or on behalf of
any person and result in either cash in
or cash out totaling more than $10,000
during any gaming day. For purposes
of this paragraph (c)(3), a casino shall
be deemed to have the knowledge de-
scribed in the preceding sentence, if:
any sole proprietor, partner, officer, di-
rector, or employee of the casino, act-
ing within the scope of his or her em-
ployment, has knowledge that such
multiple currency transactions have
occurred, including knowledge from ex-
amining the books, records, logs, infor-
mation retained on magnetic disk, tape
or other machine-readable media, or in
any manual system, and similar docu-
ments and information, which the ca-
sino maintains pursuant to any law or
regulation or within the ordinary
course of its business, and which con-
tain information that such multiple
currency transactions have occurred.
(d) Transactions of exempt persons—(1)
General. No bank is required to file a
report otherwise required by paragraph
(b) of this section with respect to any
transaction in currency between an ex-
empt person and such bank, or, to the
extent provided in paragraph (d)(6)(vi)
of this section, between such exempt
person and other banks affiliated with
such bank. In addition, a non-bank fi-
nancial institution is not required to
file a report otherwise required by
paragraph (b) of this section with re-
spect to a transaction in currency be-
tween the institution and a commer-
cial bank. (A limitation on the exemp-
tion described in this paragraph (d)(1)
is set forth in paragraph (d)(7) of this
section.)
(2) Exempt person. For purposes of
this section, an exempt person is:
(i) A bank, to the extent of such
bank’s domestic operations;
(ii) A department or agency of the
United States, of any State, or of any
political subdivision of any State;
(iii) Any entity established under the
laws of the United States, of any State,
or of any political subdivision of any
State, or under an interstate compact
between two or more States, that exer-
cises governmental authority on behalf
of the United States or any such State
or political subdivision;
(iv) Any entity, other than a bank,
whose common stock or analogous eq-
uity interests are listed on the New
York Stock Exchange or the American
Stock Exchange or whose common
stock or analogous equity interests
have been designated as a Nasdaq Na-
tional Market Security listed on the
Nasdaq Stock Market (except stock or
interests listed under the separate
‘‘Nasdaq Small-Cap Issues’’ heading),
provided that, for purposes of this
paragraph (d)(2)(iv), a person that is a
financial institution, other than a
bank, is an exempt person only to the
extent of its domestic operations;
(v) Any subsidiary, other than a
bank, of any entity described in para-
graph (d)(2)(iv) of this section (a ‘‘list-
ed entity’’) that is organized under the
laws of the United States or of any
State and at least 51 percent of whose
common stock or analogous equity in-
terest is owned by the listed entity,
provided that, for purposes of this
paragraph (d)(2)(v), a person that is a
financial institution, other than a
bank, is an exempt person only to the
extent of its domestic operations;
(vi) To the extent of its domestic op-
erations and only with respect to
transactions conducted through its ex-
emptible accounts, any other commer-
cial enterprise (for purposes of this
paragraph (d), a ‘‘non-listed business’’),
other than an enterprise specified in
paragraph (d)(6)(viii) of this section,
that:
(A) Has maintained a transaction ac-
count, as defined in paragraph (d)(6)(ix)
of this section, at the bank for at least
12 months;
(B) Frequently engages in trans-
actions in currency with the bank in
excess of $10,000; and
(C) Is incorporated or organized
under the laws of the United States or
a State, or is registered as and eligible
to do business within the United States
or a State; or
(vii) With respect solely to with-
drawals for payroll purposes from ex-
isting exemptible accounts, any other
person (for purposes of this paragraph
(d), a ‘‘payroll customer’’) that:
(A) Has maintained a transaction ac-
count, as defined in paragraph (d)(6)(ix)
of this section, at the bank for at least
12 months;
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393
Monetary Offices, Treasury § 103.22
(B) Operates a firm that regularly
withdraws more than $10,000 in order to
pay its United States employees in cur-
rency; and
(C) Is incorporated or organized
under the laws of the United States or
a State, or is registered as and eligible
to do business within the United States
or a State.
(3) Initial designation of exempt per-
sons—(i) General. A bank must des-
ignate each exempt person with which
it engages in transactions in currency
by the close of the 30-day period begin-
ning after the day of the first report-
able transaction in currency with that
person sought to be exempted from re-
porting under the terms of this para-
graph (d). Except as provided in para-
graph (d)(3)(ii) of this section, designa-
tion by a bank of an exempt person
shall be made by a single filing of
Treasury Form TD F 90–22.53. (A bank
is not required to file a Treasury Form
TD F 90–22.53 with respect to the trans-
fer of currency to or from any of the
twelve Federal Reserve Banks.) The
designation must be made separately
by each bank that treats the person in
question as an exempt person, except
as provided in paragraph (d)(6)(vi) of
this section. The designation require-
ments of this paragraph (d)(3) apply
whether or not the particular exempt
person to be designated has previously
been treated as exempt from the re-
porting requirements of prior § 103.22(a)
under the rules contained in 31 CFR
103.22(a) through (g), as in effect on Oc-
tober 20, 1998 (see 31 CFR Parts 0 to 199
revised as of July 1, 1998). A special
transitional rule, which extends the
time for initial designation for cus-
tomers that have been previously
treated as exempt under such prior
rules, is contained in paragraph (d)(11)
of this section.
(ii) Special rules for banks. When des-
ignating another bank as an exempt
person, a bank must either make the
filing required by paragraph (d)(3)(i) of
this section or file, in such a format
and manner as FinCEN may specify, a
current list of its domestic bank cus-
tomers. In the event that a bank files
its current list of domestic bank cus-
tomers, the bank must make the filing
as described in paragraph (d)(3)(i) of
this section for each bank that is a new
customer and for which an exemption
is sought under this paragraph (d).
(4) Annual review. The information
supporting each designation of an ex-
empt person, and the application to
each account of an exempt person de-
scribed in paragraphs (d)(2)(vi) or
(d)(2)(vii) of this section of the moni-
toring system required to be main-
tained by paragraph (d)(9)(ii) of this
section, must be reviewed and verified
at least once each year.
(5) Biennial filing with respect to cer-
tain exempt persons—(i) General. A bien-
nial filing, as described in paragraph
(d)(5)(ii) of this section, is required for
continuation of the treatment as an ex-
empt person of a customer described in
paragraph (d)(2)(vi) or (vii) of this sec-
tion. No biennial filing is required for
continuation of the treatment as an ex-
empt person of a customer described in
paragraphs (d)(2)(i) through (v) of this
section.
(ii) Non-listed businesses and payroll
customers. The designation of a non-
listed business or a payroll customer as
an exempt person must be renewed bi-
ennially, beginning on March 15 of the
second calendar year following the
year in which the first designation of
such customer as an exempt person is
made, and every other March 15 there-
after, on Treasury Form TD F 90–22.53.
Biennial renewals must include a state-
ment certifying that the bank’s system
of monitoring the transactions in cur-
rency of an exempt person for sus-
picious activity, required to be main-
tained by paragraph (d)(9)(ii) of this
section, has been applied as necessary,
but at least annually, to the account of
the exempt person to whom the bien-
nial renewal applies. Biennial renewals
also must include information about
any change in control of the exempt
person involved of which the bank
knows (or should know on the basis of
its records).
(6) Operating rules—(i) General rule.
Subject to the specific rules of this
paragraph (d), a bank must take such
steps to assure itself that a person is
an exempt person (within the meaning
of the applicable provision of para-
graph (d)(2) of this section), to docu-
ment the basis for its conclusions, and
document its compliance, with the
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394
31 CFR Ch. I (7–1–06 Edition) § 103.22
terms of this paragraph (d), that a rea-
sonable and prudent bank would take
and document to protect itself from
loan or other fraud or loss based on
misidentification of a person’s status,
and in the case of the monitoring sys-
tem requirement set forth in paragraph
(d)(9)(ii) of this section, such steps that
a reasonable and prudent bank would
take and document to identify sus-
picious transactions as required by
paragraph (d)(9)(ii) of this section.
(ii) Governmental departments and
agencies. A bank may treat a person as
a governmental department, agency, or
entity if the name of such person rea-
sonably indicates that it is described in
paragraph (d)(2)(ii) or (d)(2)(iii) of this
section, or if such person is known gen-
erally in the community to be a State,
the District of Columbia, a tribal gov-
ernment, a Territory or Insular Posses-
sion of the United States, or a political
subdivision or a wholly-owned agency
or instrumentality of any of the fore-
going. An entity generally exercises
governmental authority on behalf of
the United States, a State, or a polit-
ical subdivision, for purposes of para-
graph (d)(2)(iii) of this section, only if
its authorities include one or more of
the powers to tax, to exercise the au-
thority of eminent domain, or to exer-
cise police powers with respect to mat-
ters within its jurisdiction. Examples
of entities that exercise governmental
authority include, but are not limited
to, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
and the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey.
(iii) Stock exchange listings. In deter-
mining whether a person is described in
paragraph (d)(2)(iv) of this section, a
bank may rely on any New York,
American or Nasdaq Stock Market list-
ing published in a newspaper of general
circulation, on any commonly accepted
or published stock symbol guide, on
any information contained in the Secu-
rities and Exchange Commission
‘‘Edgar’’ System, or on any informa-
tion contained on an Internet World-
Wide Web site or sites maintained by
the New York Stock Exchange, the
American Stock Exchange, or the Na-
tional Association of Securities Deal-
ers.
(iv) Listed company subsidiaries. In de-
termining whether a person is de-
scribed in paragraph (d)(2)(v) of this
section, a bank may rely upon:
(A) Any reasonably authenticated
corporate officer’s certificate;
(B) Any reasonably authenticated
photocopy of Internal Revenue Service
Form 851 (Affiliation Schedule) or the
equivalent thereof for the appropriate
tax year; or
(C) A person’s Annual Report or
Form 10-K, as filed in each case with
the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion.
(v) Aggregated accounts. In deter-
mining the qualification of a customer
as a non-listed business or a payroll
customer, a bank may treat all ex-
emptible accounts of the customer as a
single account. If a bank elects to treat
all exemptible accounts of a customer
as a single account, the bank must con-
tinue to treat such accounts consist-
ently as a single account for purposes
of determining the qualification of the
customer as a non-listed business or
payroll customer.
(vi) Affiliated banks. The designation
required by paragraph (d)(3) of this sec-
tion may be made by a parent bank
holding company or one of its bank
subsidiaries on behalf of all bank sub-
sidiaries of the holding company, so
long as the designation lists each bank
subsidiary to which the designation
shall apply.
(vii) Sole proprietorships. A sole pro-
prietorship may be treated as a non-
listed business if it otherwise meets
the requirements of paragraph (d)(2)(vi)
of this section, as applicable. In addi-
tion, a sole proprietorship may be
treated as a payroll customer if it oth-
erwise meets the requirements of para-
graph (d)(2)(vii) of this section, as ap-
plicable.
(viii) Ineligible businesses. A business
engaged primarily in one or more of
the following activities may not be
treated as a non-listed business for pur-
poses of this paragraph (d): serving as
financial institutions or agents of fi-
nancial institutions of any type; pur-
chase or sale to customers of motor ve-
hicles of any kind, vessels, aircraft,
farm equipment or mobile homes; the
practice of law, accountancy, or medi-
cine; auctioning of goods; chartering or
operation of ships, buses, or aircraft;
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395
Monetary Offices, Treasury § 103.22
gaming of any kind (other than li-
censed parimutuel betting at race
tracks); investment advisory services
or investment banking services; real
estate brokerage; pawn brokerage; title
insurance and real estate closing; trade
union activities; and any other activi-
ties that may be specified by FinCEN.
A business that engages in multiple
business activities may be treated as a
non-listed business so long as no more
than 50% of its gross revenues is de-
rived from one or more of the ineligible
business activities listed in this para-
graph (d)(6)(viii).
(ix) Exemptible accounts of a non-listed
business or payroll customer. The ex-
emptible accounts of a non-listed busi-
ness or payroll customer include trans-
action accounts and money market de-
posit accounts. However, money mar-
ket deposit accounts maintained other
than in connection with a commercial
enterprise are not exemptible accounts.
A transaction account, for purposes of
this paragraph (d), is any account de-
scribed in section 19(b)(1)(C) of the Fed-
eral Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(C),
and its implementing regulations (12
CFR part 204). A money market deposit
account, for purposes of this paragraph
(d), is any interest-bearing account
that is described as a money market
deposit account in 12 CFR 204.2(d)(2).
(x) Documentation. The records main-
tained by a bank to document its com-
pliance with and administration of the
rules of this paragraph (d) shall be
maintained in accordance with the pro-
visions of § 103.38.
(7) Limitation on exemption. A trans-
action carried out by an exempt person
as an agent for another person who is
the beneficial owner of the funds that
are the subject of a transaction in cur-
rency is not subject to the exemption
from reporting contained in paragraph
(d)(1) of this section.
(8) Limitation on liability. (i) No bank
shall be subject to penalty under this
part for failure to file a report required
by paragraph (b) of this section with
respect to a transaction in currency by