On February 13, 2026, FinCEN issued an order of “Exceptive Relief from Requirements to Identify and Verify Beneficial Owners at Each Account Opening” (FIN-2026-R001).
The Order states, …Rather than having to identify and verify a legal entity customer’s beneficial owners each time that customer opens an account, covered financial institutions may instead limit their identification and verification of the identities of beneficial owners under 31 C.F.R. § 1010.230(b) in certain circumstances.
Financial institutions must; however, …continue to comply with all other applicable anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its implementing regulations, including program, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.
This exceptive relief was effective immediately; however, if you want to take advantage of it, it’s not just a simple flip of the switch. Doing so is going to require changes to your policies, procedures and processes.
Published 2026/02/19