Definitions of Transmittal of Funds and Funds Transfer
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Final rule.
CFR Part: "31 CFR Part 1010"
RIN Number: "RIN 1506-AB20"
Citation: "78 FR 72813"
"Rules and Regulations"
SUMMARY: The
   DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective
   FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
   FinCEN:
   Board:
   SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended by the
   FOOTNOTE 1 The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b and 1951-1959, 18 U.S.C. 1956, 1957, and 1960, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5332 and notes thereto, with implementing regulations at 31 CFR Chapter X. See 31 CFR 1010.100(e). END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 2 31 U.S.C. 5311. END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 3 Treasury Order 180-01 (
   The BSA was amended by the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-550) ("Annunzio-Wylie"). Annunzio-Wylie authorizes the Secretary and the Board to issue joint regulations requiring insured banks to maintain records of domestic funds transfers. /4/ In addition, Annunzio-Wylie authorizes the Secretary and the Board to issue joint regulations requiring insured banks and certain nonbank financial institutions to maintain records of international funds transfers and transmittals of funds. /5/ Annunzio-Wylie requires the Secretary and the Board, in issuing regulations for international funds transfers and transmittals of funds, to consider the usefulness of the records in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings, and the effect of the regulations on the cost and efficiency of the payments system. /6/
   FOOTNOTE 4 12 U.S.C. 1829b(b)(2) (2006). Treasury has independent authority to issue regulations requiring nonbank financial institutions to maintain records of domestic transmittals of funds. END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 5 12 U.S.C.1829b(b)(3) (2006). END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 6
   The Electronic Fund Transfer Act ("EFTA") /7/ was enacted in 1978 to establish the rights and liabilities of consumers as well as the responsibilities of all participants in electronic fund transfer activities. The EFTA is implemented by Regulation E, which sets up the framework that establishes the rights, liabilities, and responsibilities of participants in electronic fund transfer systems. /8/ Section 1073 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act"), /9/ added a new section 919 to the EFTA, creating a comprehensive new system of consumer protections for remittance transfers sent by consumers in
   FOOTNOTE 7 15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq. END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 8 12 CFR part 1005. END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 9 Public Law 111-203, 124
II. Background Information
A. Current Regulations Regarding Funds Transfers and Transmittals of Funds
   On
   FOOTNOTE 10 31 CFR 1020.410(a) (recordkeeping requirements for banks); 31 CFR 1010.410(e) (recordkeeping requirements for nonbank financial institutions). The Board revised its Regulation S (12 CFR part 219) to incorporate by reference the recordkeeping rule codified in Title 31 of the CFR, as well as to impose a five-year record-retention requirement with respect to the recordkeeping and reporting requirements. END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 11 31 CFR 1010.410(f). END FOOTNOTE
   The recordkeeping and travel rules provide uniform recordkeeping and transmittal requirements for financial institutions and are intended to help law enforcement and regulatory authorities detect, investigate, and prosecute money laundering and other financial crimes by preserving an information trail about persons sending and receiving funds through the funds transfer system.
   In general, the recordkeeping rule requires financial institutions to retain information on transmittals of funds of
    * If acting as a transmittor's financial institution, either the original, microfilmed, copied, or electronic record of the following information: (a) The name and address of the transmittor; (b) the amount of the transmittal order; (c) the execution date of the transmittal order; (d) any payment instructions received from the transmittor with the transmittal order; (e) the identity of the recipient's financial institution; (f) as many of the following items as are received with the transmittal order: the name and address of the recipient, the account number of the recipient, and any other specific identifier of the recipient; and (g) if the transmittor's financial institution is a nonbank financial institution, any form relating to the transmittal of funds that is completed or signed by the person placing the transmittal order. /12/
   FOOTNOTE 12 31 CFR 1010.410(e)(1)(i). END FOOTNOTE
    * If acting as an intermediary financial institution, or a recipient financial institution, either the original, microfilmed, copied, or electronic record of the received transmittal order. /13/
   FOOTNOTE 13 31 CFR 1010.410(e)(1)(ii) and (iii). END FOOTNOTE
   Banks are required to maintain analogous information for funds transfers of
   FOOTNOTE 14 31 CFR 1020.410(a). END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 15 31 CFR 1010.410(e)(4) END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 16 12 U.S.C. 1829b(b)(3)(C); 12 CFR 219.24. END FOOTNOTE
   Under the travel rule, a financial institution acting as the transmittor's financial institution must obtain and include in the transmittal order the following information on transmittals of funds of
   FOOTNOTE 17 31 CFR 1010.410(f)(1)-(2). END FOOTNOTE
   The recordkeeping rule and the travel rule apply to transmittals of funds and funds transfers. A "transmittal of funds" is defined as a series of transactions beginning with the transmittor's transmittal order, made for the purpose of making payment to the recipient of the order (31 CFR 1010.100(ddd)). The term includes any transmittal order issued by the transmittor's financial institution or an intermediary financial institution intended to carry out the transmittor's transmittal order. The term transmittal of funds includes a funds transfer. A "funds transfer" is a series of transactions beginning with the originator's payment order, made for the purpose of making payment to the beneficiary of the order (31 CFR 1010.100(w)). The term includes any payment order issued by the originator's bank or an intermediary bank intended to carry out the originator's payment order. Under the current definitions, transmittals of funds and funds transfers governed by the EFTA, as well as any other funds transfers that are effected through an automated clearinghouse, an automated teller machine ("ATM"), or a point-of-sale system, are excluded from the definitions of "transmittal of funds" and "funds transfer" under the BSA.
   When the recordkeeping and travel rules were adopted, the EFTA governed only electronic funds transfers as defined in section 903(a)(7) of that Act. The term "electronic fund transfer" includes any transfer of funds that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer, or magnetic tape, for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit a consumer's account (including a payroll card account). The term includes, but is not limited to, (a) point-of-sale transfers; (b) ATM transactions; (c) direct deposits or withdrawals of funds; (d) transfers initiated by phone as part of a bill-payment plan; and (e) transfers resulting from debit card transactions, whether or not initiated through an electronic terminal. The term does not include certain transfers of funds, such as those originated by check, draft, or similar paper instrument; those issued as a means of guaranteeing the payment or authorizing the acceptance of a check, draft, or similar paper instrument; or those made in the context of a purchase or sale of certain securities or commodities. /18/ Wire or other similar transfers conducted through Fedwire(R) or similar wire transfer systems primarily used for transfers between financial institutions or between businesses are also specifically excluded from the definition of "electronic fund transfer."
   FOOTNOTE 18 15 U.S.C. 1693a(7); 12 CFR 1005.3(b). END FOOTNOTE
   Section 1073 of the Dodd-Frank Act, signed into law on
   FOOTNOTE 19 77 FR 6193 (
   FOOTNOTE 20 12 CFR 1005.30(e). END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 21 12 CFR 1005.30(g). END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 22 12 CFR 1005.30(c). END FOOTNOTE
   FOOTNOTE 23 12 CFR 1005.30(f). END FOOTNOTE
C. Effect of Changes to the EFTA and Regulation E on the Scope of the Definitions of "Transmittal of Funds" and "Funds Transfer" Under the Regulations Implementing the BSA
   Existing BSA regulations exclude certain types of transactions and payment systems that are used mostly for domestic retail transactions and payments from the definitions of funds transfer and transmittal of funds. This exclusion was implemented, not by listing the individual transaction types, but by referencing the law that protected the consumers engaged in such transactions, namely the EFTA, and the specific payment systems through which such transactions are conducted, namely ATM, point-of-sale, and automated clearinghouse transactions. This method of identifying excluded transactions created a link between the two statutes (and their implementing regulations) with very different goals. The BSA requires financial institutions to keep records and file reports on transmittals of funds and funds transfers (which could be either domestic or international, consumer- or business-related, retail or wholesale, cash-based or account-based) that the Secretary and the Board determine have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings, or in intelligence or counterintelligence matters to protect against domestic and international terrorism. /24/ The EFTA, as originally adopted, protects individual consumers engaging in certain movements of funds initiated through electronic means (e.g., electronic terminal, telephone, computer, online banking, magnetic tape, etc.) for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit a consumer's account. In spite of the different statutory purposes, for many years this approach to identifying excluded transactions was satisfactory, as the types of transactions covered by the EFTA conformed to the profile of the types of transactions that were appropriate to exclude from the recordkeeping and travel requirements under the BSA.
   FOOTNOTE 24 31 U.S.C. 5311; 12 U.S.C. 1829b and 1953(a). END FOOTNOTE
   However, the recent amendments to the EFTA and the recently finalized revisions to Regulation E, which will become effective
III. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Analysis of Comments, and Final Rule
   To avoid the aforementioned reduction in the scope of transactions subject to the BSA, on
   FOOTNOTE 25 77 FR 72783 (
   The comment period ended on
   Five commenters requested that the Board and FinCEN clearly state in the Final Rule that the proposed amendment does not change the current scope of the obligations of financial institutions under the recordkeeping and travel rules. As noted in the preamble to the proposal, the purpose of the Final Rule is to maintain the recordkeeping and reporting status quo existing before the EFTA amendments. Nothing in this Final Rule modifies the current scope of the obligation of any financial institution under the recordkeeping and travel rules.
   One commenter encouraged the Board and FinCEN to delay finalizing the proposed amendment until
   Finally, another commenter suggested that the Board and FinCEN consider incorporating the statutory language of section 903(7) of the EFTA into the regulatory definitions, without cross-referencing the EFTA statute, to prevent the need for further amendments should
IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
   Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. It has been determined that this final rule is neither an economically significant regulatory action nor a significant regulatory action for purposes of Executive Orders 12866 and13563.
V. Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995 Statement
   Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 ("Unfunded Mandates Act"), Public Law 104-4 (
VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act
FinCEN
   The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
Board
   An initial regulatory flexibility analysis ("IRFA") was included in the proposal in accordance with Section 3(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C.
   The RFA requires an agency either to provide a final regulatory flexibility analysis or certify that the final rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The final rule covers insured banks and certain nonbank financial institutions that are engaged in funds transfers and transmittals of funds. The Board believes it is unlikely that the final rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Nonetheless, the Board has prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis pursuant to the RFA.
   1. Statement of the need for and objectives of the final rule. The Dodd-Frank Act's amendments to the EFTA expanded the types of transactions that are covered by the EFTA, thereby excluding them from the definition of funds transfer and transmittal of funds in 31 CFR 1010.100(w) and 31 CFR 1010.100(ddd), respectively. This final rule is necessary to retain the current scope of transactions subject to the recordkeeping rule.
   2. Summary of significant issues raised by public comment on the Board's initial analysis of issues, and a statement of any changes made as a result. The Board did not receive any comments on the proposed rule addressing matters relating to the Board's initial regulatory flexibility analysis.
   3. Small entities affected by the final rule. The requirements of this final rule, like the existing requirements, apply to all financial institutions subject to the Bank Secrecy Act, regardless of size. Based on Call Report data as of
   FOOTNOTE 26
   4. Compliance requirements. The final rule, like the current regulation, requires insured depository institutions and nonbank financial institutions to collect and retain information on funds transfers and transmittals of funds. The final rule does not change the scope of the information currently required to be collected or retained and does not change the funds transfers and transmittals of funds for which the information currently must be collected and maintained.
   5. Other Federal rules. The Board has not identified any Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the final rule.
   6. Significant alternatives to the proposed regulation. The Board did not receive any comments on any significant alternatives that would minimize the impact of the proposal on small entities.
VII. Paperwork Reduction Act
   The collection of information requirements have been reviewed and approved by the
List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 1010
   Authority delegations (Government agencies), Banks and banking, Currency, Investigations, Law enforcement, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority and Issuance
   For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 31 CFR part 1010 is amended as follows:
PART 1010--GENERAL PROVISIONS
   1. The authority citation for part 1010 continues to read as follows:
   Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1829b and 1951-1959; 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314, 5316-5332; title III, secs. 311, 312, 313, 314, 319, 326, 352, Pub. L. 107-56, 115
   2. Section 1010.100 is amended by:
   a. Revising the last sentence of paragraph (w), and
   b. Revising the last sentence of paragraph (ddd) to read as follows:
* * * * *
   (w) Funds transfer. * * * Electronic fund transfers as defined in section 903(7) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693a(7)), as well as any other funds transfers that are made through an automated clearinghouse, an automated teller machine, or a point-of-sale system, are excluded from this definition.
* * * * *
   (ddd) Transmittal of funds. * * * Electronic fund transfers as defined in section 903(7) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693a(7)), as well as any other funds transfers that are made through an automated clearinghouse, an automated teller machine, or a point-of-sale system, are excluded from this definition.
* * * * *
In concurrence:
   By order of the
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
   Dated:
Director,
[FR Doc. 2013-28951 Filed 12-3-13;
BILLING CODE 4810-2P-P; 6210-01-P
| Copyright: | (c) 2013 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. |
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