Purchases of Bank Checks and Drafts, Cashier’s Checks, Money Orders, and Traveler’s Checks (31 CFR 1010.415)

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
1506-0057-Records of Money Orders Travelers' Checks Supporting Statement- Final 7-23-2021 in ROCIS.docx Supporting Statement A	2021-07-27

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
194395	Purchases of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money orders and traveler's checks	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1506-0057	ICR Reference No: 202107-1506-004
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 201709-1506-011
Agency/Subagency: TREAS/FINCEN	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Purchases of Bank Checks and Drafts, Cashier’s Checks, Money Orders, and Traveler’s Checks (31 CFR 1010.415)
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 08/09/2021

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2021
Responses	15,677	60,900
Time Burden (Hours)	117,578	456,750
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

---

Abstract: The BSA prohibits financial institutions from issuing any ‘‘bank check, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, or money order to any individual in connection with a transaction or group of such contemporaneous transactions which involves United States coins or currency (or such other monetary instruments as the Secretary may prescribe) in amounts or denominations of $3,000 or more’’ unless the individual either has a verified transaction account with the financial institution, or furnishes the financial institution with the information required by regulations and that information is verified and recorded by the financial institution; financial institutions must record the method of account verification or the information required to be furnished. To implement these requirements, FinCEN issued a regulation requiring financial institutions to maintain records of the issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier’s checks, money orders, and traveler’s checks. The regulation on its face applies to all financial institutions as defined in 31 CFR 1010.100(t). However, as a practical matter banks and money services businesses (MSBs) are the types of financial institutions most likely to be issuing or selling bank checks and drafts, cashier’s checks, money orders, and traveler’s checks. Under 31 CFR 1010.415, financial institutions are required to maintain records of certain information related to the issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier’s checks, money orders, and traveler’s checks when the issuance or sale involves currency between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive, to any individual purchaser of one or more of these instruments. Under 31 CFR 1010.415(a)(1)(i), if the purchaser has a deposit account with the financial institution, the financial institution is required to maintain records of the: (A) purchaser’s name; (B) date of purchase; (C) type(s) of instrument(s) purchased; (D) serial number(s) of each of the instrument(s) purchased; and (E) the amount in dollars of each of the instrument(s) purchased. Under 31 CFR 1010.415(a)(1)(ii), the financial institution must also verify that the individual is a deposit accountholder or must verify the individual’s identity.

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 31 USC 5325 Name of Law: Money and Fincance
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

---

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

---

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	86 FR 6411	01/21/2021
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	86 FR 43312	08/06/2021
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

---

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Purchases of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money orders and traveler's checks

---

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	15,677	60,900	0	0	-45,223	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	117,578	456,750	0	0	-339,172	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The estimated total annual burden hours decreased by 339,171 hours from 456,750 hours in 2017 to 117,579 hours in 2020, although the annual hourly burden estimates (7.5 hours) per regulatory requirement remained the same as in 2017. The reduction in burden is a result of a decrease in the number of respondents from 60,900 in 2017 to 15,677 in 2020, based on additional FinCEN analysis which concluded that fewer financial institutions were affected by the requirements.

---

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

---

Common Form ICR:  No

---

On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 08/09/2021

---