[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6411-6416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01187]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; 
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Purchases of Bank Checks and 
Drafts, Cashier's Checks, Money Orders, and Traveler's Checks

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, 
without change, of a currently approved information collection found in 
existing Bank Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically, the regulations 
require recordkeeping for the issuance or sale of bank checks and 
drafts, cashier's checks, money orders, and traveler's checks when the 
issuance or sale involves the use of currency in an amount between 
$3,000 and $10,000, inclusive. Although no changes are proposed to the 
information collection itself, this request for comments covers a 
future expansion of the scope of the annual hourly burden and cost 
estimate associated with these regulations. This request for comments 
is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

[[Page 6412]]


DATES: Written comments are welcome, and must be received on or before 
March 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number 
FINCEN-2021-0001 and the specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control number 1506-0057.
     Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2021-0001 and OMB control number 1506-0057.
    Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will also be 
taken into account in FinCEN's review of existing regulations, 
consistent with Treasury's 2011 Plan for Retrospective Analysis of 
Existing Rules. All comments submitted in response to this notice will 
become a matter of public record. Therefore, you should submit only 
information that you wish to make publicly available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Regulatory Support Section 
at 1-800-767-2825 or electronically at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions

    The legislative framework generally referred to as the Bank Secrecy 
Act (BSA) consists of the Currency and Financial Transactions Reporting 
Act of 1970, as amended by the Uniting and Strengthening America by 
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct 
Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) (Public Law 107-56) and other 
legislation. The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951-
1959, 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5332, and notes thereto, with 
implementing regulations at 31 CFR Chapter X.
    The BSA authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, inter alia, to 
require financial institutions to keep records and file reports that 
are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, 
and regulatory matters, or in the conduct of intelligence or counter-
intelligence activities to protect against international terrorism, and 
to implement anti-money laundering (AML) programs and compliance 
procedures.\1\ Regulations implementing the BSA appear at 31 CFR 
Chapter X. The authority of the Secretary to administer the BSA has 
been delegated to the Director of FinCEN.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act added language expanding 
the scope of the BSA to intelligence or counter-intelligence 
activities to protect against international terrorism. Section 6101 
of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (``the AML Act'') added 
language further expanding the scope of the BSA but did not disturb 
these longstanding purposes. The AML Act is Division F of Pub. L. 
116-283 (January 1, 2021).
    \2\ Treasury Order 180-01 (re-affirmed Jan. 14, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.\3\ 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.\4\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ 31 U.S.C. 5325.
    \4\ 31 CFR 1010.415. This regulation was originally published in 
1990 as 31 CFR 103.29. See Amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act 
Regulations Relating to Identification Required to Purchase Bank 
Checks and Drafts, Cashier's Checks, Money Orders and Traveler's 
Checks, 55 FR 20139 (May 15, 1990). It was modified slightly in 
1994. See Amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act Regulations Relating to 
Identification Required to Purchase Bank Checks and Drafts, 
Cashier's Checks, Money Orders, and Traveler's Checks, 59 FR 52250 
(October 17, 1994).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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: (A) The name of the 
purchaser; (B) the date of purchase; (C) the type(s) of instrument(s) 
purchased; (D) the 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.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ Verification may be either through a signature card or other 
file or record at the financial institution provided the deposit 
accountholder's name and address were verified previously and that 
information was recorded on the signature card or other file or 
record; or by examination of a document which is normally acceptable 
as a means of identification when cashing checks for nondepositors 
and which contains the name and address of the purchaser. If the 
deposit accountholder's identity has not been verified previously, 
the financial institution may only verify the deposit 
accountholder's identity by examination of a document which is 
normally acceptable within the banking community as a means of 
identification when cashing checks for nondepositors and which 
contains the name and address of the purchaser, and must also record 
the specific identifying information (e.g., State of issuance and 
number of driver's license).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under 31 CFR 1010.415(a)(2)(i), if the purchaser does not have a 
deposit account with the financial institution, the financial 
institution must maintain a record of: (A) The name and address of the 
purchaser; (B) the social security number of the purchaser, or if the 
purchaser is an alien and does not have a social security number, the 
alien identification number; (C) the date of birth of the purchaser; 
(D) the date of the purchase; (E) the type(s) of instrument(s) 
purchased; (F) the serial number(s) of the instrument(s) purchased; and 
(G) the amount in dollars of each of the instrument(s) purchased. Under 
31 CFR 1010.415(a)(2)(ii), the financial institution must also verify 
the purchaser's name and address by examination of a document which is 
normally acceptable as a means of identification when cashing checks 
for nondepositors and which contains the name and address of the 
purchaser, and must record the specific identifying information.

[[Page 6413]]

    Under 31 CFR 1010.415(b), financial institutions must treat 
contemporaneous purchases of the same or different types of instruments 
totaling $3,000 or more as one purchase. Multiple purchases during one 
business day totaling $3,000 or more must be treated as one purchase if 
an individual employee, director, officer, or partner of the financial 
institution has knowledge that these purchases have occurred.
    Under 31 CFR 1010.415(c), financial institutions must retain all 
required records for a period of five years and make those records 
available to the Secretary upon request at any time.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Title: Purchases of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money 
orders, and traveler's checks (31 CFR 1010.415).
    OMB Control Number: 1506-0057.
    Report Number: Not applicable.
    Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control 
number for the recordkeeping requirement for the issuance or sale of 
bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money orders, and traveler's 
checks when the issuance or sale involves the use currency in an amount 
between $3,000 and 10,000, inclusive.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit institutions, and 
non-profit institutions.
    Type of Review:
     Renewal without change of a currently approved information 
collection.
     Propose for review and comment a renewal of the portion of 
the PRA burden that has been subject to notice and comment in the past 
(the ``traditional annual PRA burden'').
     Propose for review and comment a future expansion of the 
scope of the PRA burden (the ``future annual PRA burden'').
    Frequency: As required.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 15,677 financial institutions.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ Table 1 below sets forth a breakdown of the types of 
financial institutions covered by this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Recordkeeping Burden: 117,579 burden hours.
    Part 1 of this notice describes the breakdown of the estimated 
number of financial institutions, by type. Part 2 proposes for review 
and comment a renewal of the estimate of the traditional annual PRA 
hourly burden, which includes a scope and methodology similar to the 
estimate used in the past, with the incorporation of a more robust cost 
estimate. The scope and methodology used in the past was limited to an 
estimate of the burden of the overall regulation and did not assign or 
categorize burden estimates according to the specific steps to create 
and maintain records for issuances or sales of bank checks and drafts, 
cashier's checks, money orders, and traveler's checks between $3,000-
$10,000, inclusive, to deposit accountholders or other customers. Part 
3 of this notice proposes for review and comment a methodology for a 
future estimate of an annual PRA burden. The estimate would include the 
PRA hourly burden and cost of creating and maintaining records related 
to issuances or sales of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, 
money orders, and traveler's checks between $3,000 and 10,000, based on 
estimates of the volume of these instruments issued or sold, the number 
of depository accountholder or other customers purchasing these 
instruments per year, and the average time to verify the identity of 
depository accountholder and other customers. Finally, Part 4 solicits 
input from the public about: (a) The accuracy of the traditional annual 
PRA burden estimate; (b) the more granular calculation needed to 
establish a future annual PRA burden; (c) the criteria, metrics, and 
most appropriate questions FinCEN should consider when conducting 
research to obtain the information on which to base an estimate of the 
future annual PRA burden; and (d) any other comments about the 
regulations and the current and proposed future hourly burden and cost 
estimates of these requirements.

Part 1. Breakdown of the Financial Institutions Covered by This Notice

    The breakdown of financial institutions, by type, covered by this 
notice is reflected in Table 1 below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
(FDIC) there were 5,103 FDIC-insured banks as of March 31, 2020. 
According to the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), there were 203 other 
entities supervised by the FRB, as of June 16, 2020, that fall 
within the definition of bank (20 Edge Act institutions, 15 
agreement corporations (as defined in 12 CFR 28.2) and 168 foreign 
banking organizations). According to the National Credit Union 
Administration there were 5,236 federally regulated credit unions as 
of December 31, 2019. Approximately 297 state-chartered non-
depository trust companies, 228 non-federally insured credit unions, 
12 non-federally insured state-chartered banks and savings and loan 
or building and loan associations, 1 private bank, 52 international 
financial entities, and 29 international banking entities--all of 
which are required to implement written AML program as a result of a 
final rule issued on September 15, 2020 (85 FR 57129)--are also 
required to keep the records described in this notice.
    \9\ This number is derived from self-reported information in MSB 
registrations submitted to FinCEN. FinCEN's MSB registration 
database available at https://www.fincen.gov/msb-state-selector.
    \10\ Id.

 Table 1--Breakdown of Financial Institutions Covered by This Notice, by
                      Type of Financial Institution
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Number of
              Type of financial institution                  financial
                                                           institutions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Banks...................................................      \8\ 11,161
Issuers/Sellers of Money Orders.........................       \9\ 4,353
Issuers/Sellers of Traveler's Checks....................        \10\ 163
                                                         ---------------
  Total Number of Financial Institutions................          15,677
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2. Traditional Annual PRA Burden and Cost

    The scope of the traditional annual PRA burden and cost estimates 
in this renewal encompasses all of the recordkeeping requirements for 
the issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money 
orders, and traveler's checks between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive. FinCEN 
continues to estimate the annual hourly burden of creating and 
maintaining records for the issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, 
cashier's checks, money orders, or traveler's checks to individual 
purchasers when the sale involves currency between $3,000-$10,000, 
inclusive, at seven and a half hours per covered financial institution, 
irrespective of the volume of such transactions. This estimate covers 
the burden of (i) verifying the identity of depository accountholder 
and other

[[Page 6414]]

customers purchasing bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money 
orders, or traveler's checks when the issuance or sale involves 
currency between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive, and (ii) creating and 
maintaining records of certain information for a minimum of five years 
to be made available to the Secretary upon request.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ Some of this estimated burden, particularly with respect to 
depository customers of a bank, may duplicate burden estimated in 
connection with a bank's compliance with its ordinary customer 
identification program obligations under 31 CFR 1020.220. FinCEN 
plans to take this other burden into account in future estimates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The estimated burden associated with each portion of the 
traditional annual PRA estimate is as follows:

   Table 2--Burden Associated With Maintaining Recordkeeping Requirements for Issuance/Sale of Bank Checks and
                          Drafts, Cashier's Checks, Money Orders, or Traveler's Checks
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Number of
         Type of financial institution             financial     Time per financial institution    Total burden
                                                 institutions                                          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Banks.........................................          11,161  7.5 hour........................          83,708
Issuers/Sellers of Money Orders...............           4,353  7.5 hour........................          32,648
Issuers/Sellers of Travel Checks..............             163  7.5 hour........................           1,223
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Burden Hours........................  ..............  ................................         117,579
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To calculate the hourly costs of the burden estimate, FinCEN 
identified two roles and corresponding staff positions involved in 
verifying documentation and maintaining records for the issuance or 
sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money orders and 
traveler's checks between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive: (i) Direct 
supervision (reviewing operational-level work and cross-checking all or 
a sample of the work product against supporting documentation) and (ii) 
clerical work (engaging in verification and recordkeeping).
    FinCEN calculated the fully-loaded hourly wage for each of these 
two roles by using the median wage estimated by the U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics (BLS),\12\ and computing an additional benefits cost 
as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational 
Employment Statistics-National, May 2019, available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. The most recent data from the BLS 
corresponds to May 2019. For the benefits component of total 
compensation, see U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer's Cost 
per Employee Compensation as of December 2019, available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm. The ratio between benefits 
and wages for financial activities is $15.95 (hourly benefits)/
$32.05 (hourly wages) = 0.50. The benefit factor is 1 plus the 
benefit/wages ratio, or 1.50. Multiplying each hourly wage by the 
benefit factor produces the fully-loaded hourly wage per position.

  Table 3--Fully-Loaded Hourly Wage by Role and BLS Job Position for All Financial Institutions Covered by This
                                                     Notice
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Median hourly                   Fully-loaded
             Role                  BLS-Code         BLS-Name           wage       Benefit factor    hourly wage
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct supervision............         13-1041  Compliance                $33.20            1.50          $49.80
                                                 Officer.
Clerical work (research,               43-3099  Financial Clerk.           20.40            1.50           30.60
 review, and recordkeeping).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    FinCEN estimates that, in general and on average,\13\ each role 
would spend different amounts of time on each portion of the 
traditional annual PRA burden. For verifying the identity of the 
purchaser and maintaining the recordkeeping requirement, the estimated 
cost of the hourly burden is $33.00, per the calculations in Table 4 
below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ By ``in general,'' FinCEN means without regard to outliers. 
By ``on average,'' FinCEN means the mean of the distribution of each 
subset of the population.

                 Table 4--Weighted Average Hourly Cost of Maintaining Recordkeeping Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Direct supervision                               Clerical work
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Weighted average
        % time              Hourly cost               % time              Hourly cost            hourly cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                10%                  $4.98                    90%                 $27.54              * $33.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(*) $32.52 rounded to $33.00.

    The total estimated cost of the traditional annual PRA burden is 
$3,880,107 as reflected in Table 5 below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See Table 2.
    \15\ See Table 4.

[[Page 6415]]



                              Table 5--Total Cost of Traditional Annual PRA Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Steps                                Hourly burden    Hourly cost     Total cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Verifying and maintaining records (divided between the roles        \14\ 117,579        \15\ $33      $3,880,107
 listed in Table 4).............................................
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total Cost..................................................  ..............  ..............      $3,880,107
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 3. Future Annual PRA Burden

    In the future, FinCEN intends to be more granular in estimating the 
annual PRA burden, by including the estimated hourly burden and cost 
behind the individual steps required to maintain records for the 
issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money 
orders, and traveler's checks between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive, to 
depository accountholder and other customers. In particular, FinCEN 
seeks to include in this calculation the number of these instruments 
issued or sold per financial institution annually, the number of 
depository accountholder and other customers purchasing these 
instruments per year, and the average time per financial institution to 
verify the identity of depository accountholder and other customers. 
FinCEN does not have the information to estimate the annual number of 
instruments issued or sold to depository accountholder and other 
customers that trigger the recordkeeping requirements being renewed in 
this notice. For that reason, FinCEN is relying on estimates used in 
prior renewals of this OMB control number and the applicable 
regulations. FinCEN further recognizes that after receiving public 
comments as a result of this notice, future traditional annual PRA 
hourly burden and cost estimates may vary significantly from those 
contained in this document. FinCEN intends to conduct more granular 
studies of the actions included in the proposed scope of the annual PRA 
burden in the near future, to arrive at more accurate estimates of net 
BSA hourly burden and cost.\16\ The data obtained in these studies also 
may result in a significant change from the estimated traditional 
annual PRA burden.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ Net hourly burden and cost are the burden and cost a 
financial institution incurs to comply with requirements that are 
unique to the BSA, and that do not support any other business 
purpose or regulatory obligation of the financial institution. 
Burden for purposes of the PRA does not include the time and 
financial resources needed to comply with an information collection, 
if the time and resources are for things a business (or other 
person) does in the ordinary course of its activities if the agency 
demonstrates that the reporting activities needed to comply are 
usual and customary. 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Recordkeeping Burden: The average estimated annual PRA 
burden, measured in hours per respondent, is seven and a half hours.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 15,677, as set out in Table 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Recordkeeping Burden: The estimated total 
annual PRA burden is 117,579 hours, as set out in Table 2.
    Estimated Total Annual Recordkeeping Cost: The estimated total 
annual PRA cost is $3,880,107, as set out in Table 5.
    An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid OMB control number. Records required to be 
retained under the BSA must be retained for five years.

Part 4. Request for Comments

(a) Specific Request for Comments on the Traditional Annual PRA Hourly 
Burden and Cost
    FinCEN invites comments on any aspect of the traditional annual PRA 
burden, as set out in Part 2 of this notice. In particular, FinCEN 
seeks comments on the adequacy of: (i) FinCEN's assumptions underlying 
its burden estimate; (ii) the estimated number of hours required by 
each portion of the burden; and (iii) the organizational roles of the 
financial institution engaged in each portion of the burden, the roles' 
estimated hourly remuneration, and the estimated proportion of time 
spent by each role on the requirements. FinCEN encourages commenters to 
include any publicly available sources for alternative estimates or 
methodologies.
(b) Specific Request for Comments on the Proposed Criteria for 
Determining the Scope of a Future Annual PRA Hourly Burden and Cost 
Estimate
    FinCEN invites comments on any aspect of the criteria for an 
estimate of the future annual PRA burden, as set out in Part 3 of this 
notice.
(c) Specific Request for Comments on the Appropriate Criteria, 
Methodology, and Questionnaire Required To Obtain Information to More 
Precisely Estimate the Future Annual PRA Hourly Burden and Cost
    FinCEN invites comments on the most appropriate and comprehensive 
means to question financial institutions about the annual hourly burden 
and cost attributable solely to creating and maintaining records for 
the issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money 
orders and traveler's checks between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive (i.e., 
the hourly burden and cost of complying with the recordkeeping 
requirements imposed exclusively by the BSA; the volume of these 
instruments issued or sold; the number of depository accountholder and 
other customers purchasing these instruments per year; and the average 
time to verify the identity of depository accountholder and other 
customers).
    The future annual PRA hourly burden and cost estimate of the 
recordkeeping necessary to comply with maintaining records for issuance 
or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money orders and 
traveler's checks between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive, to any individual 
purchaser must take into consideration only the effort involved in 
obtaining those data elements that are used exclusively for complying 
with requirements under 31 CFR 1010.415. FinCEN seeks comments from the 
public regarding any questions we should consider posing in future 
notices, in addition to the specific questions for comment outlined 
directly below. Also, due to the evident difficulty involved in 
estimating the volume of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, 
money orders and traveler's checks issued or sold that involve currency 
between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive, the annual number of depository 
accountholder and other customers purchasing these instruments, and the 
average time to verify the identity of depository accountholder and 
other customers, FinCEN welcomes any suggestions as to how to derive 
these estimates by using publicly available financial information.

[[Page 6416]]

(d) Specific Questions for Comment Associated With Recordkeeping 
Requirements for Issuance or Sale of Bank Checks and Drafts, Cashier's 
Checks, Money Orders and Traveler's Checks That Involve Currency 
Between $3,000-$10,000, Inclusive, by Depository Accountholder and 
Other Customers
     Annually, on average, how often does your financial 
institution issue or sell bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, 
money orders, or traveler's checks that involve currency between 
$3,000-$10,000, inclusive?
     On average, how long does it take your institution to 
create a record for the issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, 
cashier's checks, money orders, or traveler's checks that involve 
currency between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive?
     On average, what is the cost to maintain records of the 
issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money 
orders, or traveler's checks that involve currency between $3,000-
$10,000, inclusive?
     On average, what is the amount of time and cost to verify 
and maintain a record for depository customers that purchase bank 
checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money orders, or traveler's checks 
that involve currency between $3,000-$10,000, inclusive, for a period 
of five years?
     On average, what is the amount of time and cost to verify 
and maintain a record for customers who do not hold depository accounts 
that purchase bank checks and drafts, cashier's checks, money orders, 
or traveler's checks that involve currency between $3,000-$10,000, 
inclusive, for a period of five years?
(e) General Request for Comments
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on: (i) Whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the collection of information; (iii) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (iv) 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and (v) estimates 
of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and 
purchase of services to provide information.

Kenneth A. Blanco,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2021-01187 Filed 1-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P