FinCEN and Federal Reserve Withdraw 2020 Travel Rule Threshold and CVC Clarification Proposal

On 6 November 2026 the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that it is withdrawing — jointly with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — the 27 October 2020 notice of proposed rulemaking that would have lowered the Bank Secrecy Act Recordkeeping and Travel Rule thresholds for certain cross-border funds transfers and clarified that those rules cover convertible virtual currency (CVC) and digital assets with legal tender status. The Agencies state they will not take further action on that NPRM.

The withdrawal instrument is Federal Register document 2026-22809 (RIN 1506-AB41; 31 CFR Parts 1010 and 1020). It is unpublished on public inspection and scheduled for Federal Register publication on 9 November 2026. The Agencies withdraw the NPRM published at 85 FR 68005 (27 October 2020) as of the date of publication in the Federal Register. Until that publication date, and after it, the existing $3,000 Recordkeeping and Travel Rule thresholds remain the operative federal standard; the 2020 proposal never became a final rule.

What the 2020 NPRM Would Have Changed

Under the current Recordkeeping Rule (31 CFR 1020.410(a) and 1010.410(e)) and Travel Rule (31 CFR 1010.410(f)), banks and nonbank financial institutions must collect, retain and — for the Travel Rule — transmit specified information on funds transfers and transmittals of funds of $3,000 or more. The Board's Regulation S incorporates the substantive Recordkeeping Rule requirements at 12 CFR 219.23. The Recordkeeping Rule for transfers that begin or end outside the United States is jointly issued by FinCEN and the Board; the Travel Rule is issued by FinCEN alone.

The October 2020 joint NPRM proposed cutting that $3,000 threshold to $250 for funds transfers and transmittals of funds that begin or end outside the United States, for both recordkeeping and (under FinCEN's parallel proposal) travel obligations. Separately, the Agencies proposed clarifying the meaning of "money" by revising the definitions of "payment order" and "transmittal order" so the Recordkeeping and Travel Rules would expressly apply to domestic and cross-border transactions involving CVC or any digital asset having legal tender status to a recipient.

Had it been finalised, the package would have reached banks, money services businesses and other covered financial institutions that handle international wire and remittance traffic, plus CVC intermediaries whose transfers meet the definitional tests. Smaller institutions and remittance providers flagged compliance cost, consumer disruption and expanded personally identifiable information retention in the comment file. CVC service providers and some trade associations opposed the clarification on technological and messaging-standard grounds; some depository institutions and MSBs supported applying the rules expressly to CVC.

Why the Agencies Are Withdrawing the Proposal

The Agencies received nearly 3,000 comments. Commenters generally opposed the $250 international threshold, citing regulatory burden, remittance disruption, a large increase in covered transactions, liability for retaining personal data, and the view that many potentially illicit sub-$3,000 transfers already surface through Suspicious Activity Reports. Sentiment on the CVC clarification was mixed. Privacy and Fourth Amendment objections, and complaints that the comment and implementation periods were too short, also appear in the summary.

In the withdrawal notice the Agencies give two primary reasons. First, more than five years have passed since the NPRM; they believe additional public feedback would be useful before any similar amendments to the Recordkeeping or Travel Rule, and they are withdrawing the proposal to give certainty that no final rule will issue without a fresh comment opportunity. Second, they cite significant CVC-industry developments since 2020, including maturation of CVC markets and new legal frameworks. The notice specifically references the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, Pub. L. 119-27, 12 U.S.C. 5901 et seq., enacted 18 July 2025; the White House July 2025 digital assets report under Executive Order 14178; and E.O. 14178 itself (90 FR 8647, 31 January 2025).

The document states that because the Agencies no longer intend to issue a final rule with respect to this proposal, the NPRM at 85 FR 68005 is withdrawn. It is signed for FinCEN by Deputy Director Jimmy L. Kirby and jointly issued by order of the Board of Governors, signed by Benjamin McDonough, Secretary of the Board. The filing line on the public-inspection PDF records filing on 6 November 2026 at 8:45 a.m., with publication date 9 November 2026.

Status Quo and What Comes Next

After withdrawal, the $3,000 Recordkeeping and Travel Rule thresholds stay in force for covered funds transfers and transmittals. The 2020 proposal's express CVC and legal-tender digital-asset definitional amendments do not take effect through this instrument. Covered institutions — including banks, MSBs and CVC businesses already treating applicable transfers under BSA travel and recordkeeping expectations — should continue to apply the existing regulations and any other applicable BSA, state or supervisory guidance; nothing in the withdrawal itself creates a new compliance deadline or safe harbour.

FinCEN's same-day press release summarises the action as a joint withdrawal of the proposed amendments on CVC and on lowering the threshold for transfers that begin or end outside the United States. The Agencies' formal text adds that they will not take further action on this NPRM. Any future, similar amendments to the Recordkeeping or Travel Rule — including threshold changes or CVC clarifications calibrated to the post-GENIUS Act landscape — would require a new proposal and a new public comment cycle. Watchpoints for banks, remittance firms and crypto intermediaries are Federal Register publication of document 2026-22809 on the scheduled 9 November 2026 date, and any subsequent FinCEN or Board proposals that reopen threshold or CVC travel-rule questions under a fresh RIN.