Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering Resources

In 1970, Congress passed the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, commonly known as the “Bank Secrecy Act” (BSA), establishing recordkeeping and reporting requirements by private individuals, banks, and other financial institutions. The BSA, along with other anti-money laundering (AML) statutes and regulations, comprise the AML regime that is intended to safeguard the U.S. financial system, and its financial institutions, from the abuses of financial crime, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit financial activity.

All credit unions must comply with the BSA regulations.

12 U.S.C. § 1786(q)(2) requires that the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) include a review of the BSA compliance program during each examination of a federally insured credit union. NCUA plays a critical role in implementing BSA regulations by developing examination guidance and enforcing compliance with the BSA in federally insured credit unions.

Please note, Department of The Treasury and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regulations use the term “bank” to define a variety of financial institutions, including credit unions, and the terms “bank” and “credit union” are used interchangeably for ease in drafting joint statements from the federal financial institution regulatory agencies.

BSA / AML Laws & Regulations

BSA / AML Tools & Guidance

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Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. FinCEN (Opens new window) is a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is the delegated administrator of the BSA. In this capacity, FinCEN issues regulations and interpretive guidance, provides outreach to regulated industries, supports the examination functions performed by federal financial institution regulatory agencies, and pursues civil enforcement actions when warranted.

For questions about FinCEN, its policies and programs, or Bank Secrecy Act requirements and forms, visit This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. www.fincen.gov/contact (Opens new window) to submit an inquiry.
Financial institutions are required to immediately report suspicious transactions that may relate to terrorist activity, or an ongoing money laundering scheme, to law enforcement or directly to FinCEN by calling 1.866.556.3974 (7 days a week, 24 hours a day), in addition to filing a timely SAR, pursuant to This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. 31 CFR §1020.320(b)(3) (Opens new window) , This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. 12 CFR §748.1(d)(2)(i) (Opens new window) , and This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. FinCEN SAR Electronic Filing Requirements 9.5(2) (Opens new window) .
FinCEN This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. Resources (Opens new window) provide additional guidance and information regarding the BSA including:
- Alerts, Advisories, Notices, Bulletins, and Fact Sheets
- BSA Filing Information
- BOI Reporting
- Financial Trend Analysis
- Important Information for Financial Institutions
- FinCEN Exchange
- SAR Stats
- … and more.
FinCEN USA PATRIOT ACT This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. 314(a) (Opens new window) / This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. 314(b) (Opens new window) Information
Interagency Statement for Banks on the Issuance of the Beneficial Ownership Information Access Rule (December 21, 2023) (Opens new window)

BSA Reporting

As of April 1, 2013, financial institutions are required to electronically file BSA reports in the This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. BSA E-Filing System (Opens new window) . FinCEN is no longer accepting legacy forms. For more information, see the This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. Notice on E-Filing Mandate (Opens new window) .

The BSA E-Filing system supports either individual or batched electronic filing to the BSA database through a secure FinCEN network. FinCEN also uses the system to issue advisories and system updates to the user community and allows for secure messaging with FinCEN.

For BSA report electronic filing instructions and user guides, see FinCEN’s This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. Filing Information (Opens new window) .

To test your batch filing program, visit This is an external link to a website belonging to another federal agency, private organization, or commercial entity. BSA E-Filing Test System (Opens new window) . Do not mail or electronically attempt to file a test report.

Contact the NCUA

If you have a BSA related question for the NCUA, please send an email to the BSA Policy mailbox at BSAPolicy@NCUA.gov.