Question 1

Who counts as a "dealer" under the BSA?

Accepted Answer

A business engaged in the United States in buying and selling covered goods that, during the prior calendar or tax year, both purchased more than $50,000 in covered goods and received more than $50,000 in gross proceeds from selling them. Both thresholds must be met.

Question 2

We only sell online and never take cash. Do we still need a program?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you meet the dealer thresholds. The program requirement turns on your purchase and sale volume, not on how you are paid. Form 8300 may rarely apply to you, but the AML program and OFAC obligations still do.

Question 3

Are retail jewelers covered?

Accepted Answer

A retailer, meaning a business selling covered goods primarily to the public, is a dealer only if it bought more than $50,000 in covered goods in the prior year from persons other than dealers and retailers, such as walk-in sellers or foreign suppliers (and also meets the sales threshold). When a retailer crosses that line, its program only needs to address those purchases.

Question 4

Are pawnbrokers excluded?

Accepted Answer

Only partly. A licensed or authorized pawnbroker is excluded from the dealer definition only to the extent it is engaged in pawn transactions, including selling pawn collateral. Gold or jewelry a pawnshop buys outright is not a pawn transaction and can count toward the thresholds. Form 8300 and OFAC apply either way.

Question 5

Do trade-ins count toward the $50,000 thresholds?

Accepted Answer

No. When a dealer or retailer accepts covered goods from a customer and credits their value to the customer's account without paying out funds, the transaction is not a purchase or sale for the thresholds.

Question 6

Are numismatic coins and finished jewelry covered goods?

Accepted Answer

Finished goods, including jewelry, numismatic items, and antiques, are covered goods if they derive 50 percent or more of their value from the precious metals, stones, or jewels they contain. When you apply the $50,000 thresholds to finished goods, count only the value of the metal, stones, or jewels, not the collector or design premium. Precious metal means gold, iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, or silver at 500 parts per thousand or more.

Question 7

How soon must a new dealer have a program in place?

Accepted Answer

Within six months after the business becomes a dealer under the definition.

Question 8

We are a depository, not a dealer. What applies to us?

Accepted Answer

It depends on whether you buy and sell covered goods. A pure storage business may fall outside the dealer definition, but OFAC obligations apply to it fully, and blocking duties attach to whoever holds property in which a blocked person has an interest.

Question 9

What must a dealer's AML program include?

Accepted Answer

A written program with four parts: policies, procedures, and internal controls based on the dealer's own risk assessment; a designated compliance officer; ongoing training for appropriate persons; and independent testing. Senior management must approve the program, and it must be available to FinCEN on request.

Question 10

How often must we test the program, and who can do it?

Accepted Answer

The rule ties the scope and frequency of testing to your risk assessment rather than setting a fixed schedule; annual testing is common practice. The tester may be your own officer or employee, as long as it is not the compliance officer or someone involved in operating the program.

Question 11

Do bank rules like CIP and the CDD rule apply to dealers?

Accepted Answer

No. The Customer Identification Program rules, the CDD rule's beneficial ownership requirements, and the Section 312 private banking and PEP rules apply to banks, broker-dealers, and other covered financial institutions, not to dealers. A dealer still needs know-your-customer steps sized to its own risk.

Question 12

Do we have to collect beneficial ownership for entity customers?

Accepted Answer

The CDD rule's beneficial ownership certification does not apply to dealers. A risk-based program should still identify who stands behind higher-risk entity customers, and sanctions screening requires an ownership check under OFAC's 50 Percent Rule.

Question 13

Is FinCEN changing the AML program rules?

Accepted Answer

FinCEN proposed a reform of AML/CFT program requirements in April 2026 that expressly covers dealers. As of October 2026 it is a proposal, not a final rule, and FinCEN proposed a 12-month implementation period after any final rule.

Question 14

Do we have to file SARs?

Accepted Answer

Dealers are not subject to a mandatory SAR rule. You may file voluntarily, and the statutory safe harbor protects good-faith voluntary filings. Your program should say how you decide whether to file.

Question 15

When do we file Form 8300?

Accepted Answer

When you receive more than $10,000 in currency in one transaction or two or more related transactions, file within 15 days. For installment payments, report once payments received within 12 months on the same transaction exceed $10,000. Cashier's checks, bank drafts, traveler's checks, and money orders of $10,000 or less can count as cash in designated reporting transactions, such as many retail sales of consumer durables. You must also give each person named in a report a written statement by January 31 of the following year.

Question 16

How long do we keep records?

Accepted Answer

BSA records, including Form 8300 copies, are kept for five years. OFAC records must now be kept for ten years. Most dealers find it simpler to set one ten-year schedule for anything that touches screening or blocking.

Question 17

Does OFAC apply if we are not a "dealer"?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Sanctions rules apply to every U.S. person and business, with no size exemption and no dollar threshold, and liability is strict. Falling outside the dealer definition removes the AML program requirement, not the sanctions obligations.

Question 18

What is OFAC's 50 Percent Rule?

Accepted Answer

An entity owned 50 percent or more in the aggregate by one or more blocked persons is itself blocked, even if it appears on no list. The rule is about ownership, not control: an entity that blocked persons control but do not own 50 percent of is not blocked by the rule alone. OFAC still urges caution with such entities, and with entities in which blocked persons hold a significant interest below 50 percent.

Question 19

A customer refused to give us ID during an OFAC review. Is that a match?

Accepted Answer

No. You can close the account and return the funds on business grounds. A refusal alone is not evidence of a sanctions match, and your records should describe it as a business decision.

Question 20

What do we do when we confirm a sanctions match?

Accepted Answer

Block the property and report it to OFAC within 10 business days. Each year, report all blocked property held as of June 30 by September 30. If you reject a transaction instead of blocking it, that also gets a report within 10 business days.

Questions dealers ask about the BSA and OFAC.

Does the BSA apply to my business?

The AML program

Reporting and records

OFAC sanctions