Loretta enters a bank and makes a wire transfer of currency from an account in the US to an account in the Cayman Islands. What does the Bank Secrecy Act require the bank to do?

• A. File a SAR
• B. File a cross-border transaction report
• C. File a Currency Transaction Report
• D. Do nothing

Answer: (B)

Cross-border transfers trigger a specific reporting rule under the Bank Secrecy Act to help authorities monitor international movement of funds. When money is wired from a U.S. account to an account outside the United States, the bank reports the transaction to FinCEN if the amount meets the reporting threshold (historically around $3,000). The filing, a cross-border transaction report, captures who sent the funds, who receives them, the banks involved, the amount, the date, and related details. This provides government visibility into international fund flows to help detect money laundering and terrorism financing.

This is different from a Currency Transaction Report, which covers cash transactions over $10,000, and from a Suspicious Activity Report, which is filed when activity appears suspicious regardless of amount. So, the bank must file the cross-border transaction report for this international wire.