Withdrawing money from the bank was not suspicious, until now. The United States is going to start investigating any withdrawal of more than 1,000 dollars.
Yes, what you used to do as a routine (if you are a multimillionaire) is now going to put the authorities on alert, especially in areas classified as “high risk”, and even if it seems exaggerated to you, the Department of the Treasury, the IRS and FinCEN have launched a plan to review, almost one by one, the withdrawals that previously went completely unnoticed.
It will start in 2026, and will require banks and businesses to report, in more detail, cash operations between 1,000 and 10,000 dollars. It does not mean that each person will be treated as a criminal, for god’s sake, but it does mean that these will be transactions that are monitored by regulators. And if something does not fit, the IRS can ask for explanations.
Change in the system
Everything has its reason, and it is that the authorities are tired of economic crimes, so they want to strengthen surveillance so that the entire banking system is “more transparent” (or at least that is what they propose), and they are going to focus, above all, on the places where strange activities or too much cash were detected (which seems unusual to them), because they believe that there is a relationship between places where large amounts of money are withdrawn and informal businesses, tax evasion or money laundering.
Until now, banks only reported operations from 10,000 dollars onwards, and lower amounts were considered part of everyday life (withdrawing 9,000 dollars from a bank is something we all do…), but now they will start investigating from 1,000 dollars.
What are they monitoring?
It must be clear that they are not going to monitor absolutely all people who withdraw 1,000 dollars once in their life, but people who have patterns. By this we mean those who make small withdrawals, one after another (avoiding the limit, you know), similar movements at ATMs in different places or operations that do not match the person’s financial record.
Even ATMs can become “suspicious” if the same operation is repeated.
The “risk” areas
These are places that the government has labeled as highly monitored. In these places, any withdrawal from 1,000 dollars will be automatically reported and recorded for evaluation.
This implies that, for many users, going to the bank or withdrawing cash from an ATM could end in questions, requests for documentation or automatic system alerts…
Is it illegal to withdraw cash?
No! Nobody is prohibiting you from withdrawing money from your bank account or limiting how much you can withdraw, they are warning you that they can ask for documents, explanations, records or invoices if any of your movements raises doubts.
And be careful, because if your explanation does not convince the system, you will have to prove what you have spent that cash on and things can get even more tense.
Starting from when?
The order will be in force until March 6, 2026, and everything indicates that banks will have little margin to apply flexible criteria. The authorities want information, and they want it fast.
What to do if you handle cash frequently?
Nothing dramatic, but avoid withdrawing money in small repeated portions, keep all receipts and documentation and maintain coherence between your withdrawals and your income. We repeat that they are not prohibiting anything, only who moves it (and how they do it). If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear!