Fed, FinCEN want to make banks report international transfers of as little as $250

The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are seeking feedback on a proposed change to the Bank Secrecy Act that would lower the threshold for reporting international transactions from $3,000 to $250.

The agencies said the proposed rule change "would lead to the preservation of information that would benefit law enforcement and national security investigations." The rule only applies to international money transfers, and the threshold for domestic transactions remains unchanged at $3,000.

"Information available to the Agencies indicates that malign actors are using smaller-value cross-border wire transfers to facilitate or commit terrorist financing, narcotics trafficking, and other illicit activity, and that increased recordkeeping and reporting concerning these transactions would be valuable to law enforcement and national security authorities," the agencies said.