A six-year proposal is closed

The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Federal Reserve Board have withdrawn their joint 2020 proposal to cut the threshold for collecting and passing on information about cross-border funds transfers from $3,000 to $250. The withdrawal notice was filed on 6 November 2026 and is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on 9 November as document 2026-22809, when the withdrawal takes effect.

The proposal, published on 27 October 2020, covered two rules. The Recordkeeping Rule requires banks and other financial businesses to collect and keep details of transfers, while the Travel Rule requires them to pass those details to the next institution in the chain. Both would have dropped to $250 for transfers beginning or ending outside the United States.

Why the agencies stepped back

The agencies received close to 3,000 comments, most of them substantially similar form letters. Commenters argued the lower threshold would burden smaller institutions, disrupt people sending money to family abroad, and force firms to hold more personal data. Some said the $3,000 line, in place since 1995, should rise for inflation instead.

The notice gives two reasons for withdrawing. More than five years have passed since the proposal, and the agencies want fresh public feedback before adopting anything similar. The market has also changed: crypto markets have matured and new legal frameworks have emerged, including the GENIUS Act stablecoin law enacted in July 2025.

What stays the same

Nothing changes for people sending money today. The $250 threshold never took effect, so the existing $3,000 line stays in place, and FinCEN's 2019 guidance on applying its rules to crypto businesses remains in force. Withdrawing a proposal removes a possible future requirement, not an existing one.

[Source: Blockchain Reporter](https://blockchainreporter.net/fincen-fed-withdraw-250-travel-rule-threshold/) | [Source: The Crypto Guide](https://thecryptoguide.org/blog/fincen-fed-withdraw-250-travel-rule-proposal-crypto-transfers/)