Skip to content

USA BSA/CIP/CDD Rule

Definition

The US AML framework is built on the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the Customer Identification Program (CIP) rule, and the Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Rule — administered by FinCEN.


Framework Components

Component What It Requires
BSA (1970) Record-keeping for transactions >$10,000, CTR filing
USA PATRIOT Act (2001) CIP requirement, enhanced due diligence for correspondent banking
CIP Rule (2003) Verify identity of each customer: name, DOB, address, ID number
CDD Rule (2016) Identify and verify beneficial owners (25%+), risk-based ongoing monitoring
FinCEN BOI (2024) Beneficial Ownership Information reporting to FinCEN

CIP Minimum Requirements

Requirement Details
Name Full legal name
Date of birth For individuals
Address Residential or business
Identification number SSN (US persons) or passport/national ID (non-US)
Verification Documentary (ID document) OR non-documentary (credit bureau, public records)

Key Takeaways

Summary

  • USA has no national digital ID — CIP relies on document verification or database checks
  • Method-agnostic: regulations don't prescribe specific eKYC technology — "reasonable belief" standard
  • CDD Rule added beneficial ownership requirements in 2016
  • FinCEN BOI (2024) creates federal beneficial ownership registry
  • 50+ state-level driving license formats make document verification more complex than countries with national ID