And another thing:

"the term 'transaction in currency' shall mean a transaction involving the physical transfer of currency from one person to another. A transaction which is a transfer of funds by means of bank check, bank draft, wire transfer, or other written order, and which does not include the physical transfer of currency, is not a transaction in currency for this purpose."

31 C.F.R. § 1010.100

Why would one "structure" to avoid triggering a reporting requirement that does not exist?

I have a few college rentals, a large percentage of the checks are MO, in fifty years the bank have just deposited the funds, once in a while I ask for cash.

My deposits exceed $10.000.00, I also have 3 different banks in 3 different cities.

Never had a problem,

I deposited 73 cents a Chase one day they wanted to see my DL. it is a Chase rule they tell me. Weird..manager said they were watching drug dealers....

73 cents? That's a very cheap drug. They must be looking for dealers who supply Pixie Stix to snorters.

Our local King Soopers (Kroger store) is starting to question our MO purchases with gebits, and we have had great luck doing it until recent weeks. I am annoyed but don't question them at all.

Our gebits are each $300, so we get $900 MO's and use three minus the .59 for the money order. I just say, "Okay, thanks anyway," and move on. It has to be the multiple swipes causing them to want to look at the cards.

However, in the back of my mind I wonder how these same folks could take $900 in cash for the same money order and not wonder about that. Cash is more suspicious in any money laundering scheme than these gebits I am using. But I could be looking at it the way I want it to work...

What the H is a "gebit"? I presume you mean debit, eh?

I've done many millions in MOs the last 3-4 years. Sadly, my volume has declined precipitously in the last year as program after program has been closed and limits imposed. But I would STRONGLY URGE EVERYONE TO DEPOSIT MORE THAN $10K in MOs at a time. If you have multiple banks (which you should), just rotate which bank you deposit at - some get irritated at the volume - others don't care. But far better to be booted as a bank customer than have reports going to the Feds for structuring.

It's a portmanteau of "gift [card]" and "debit". It signifies a prepaid gift card that can also be used as a debit card (e.g., prepaid MasterCard and Visa gift cards).

I don't like it because the word just rolls off the tongue... like gravel. It's coarse and grainy and gets everywhere.

Then the Feds will just say you're structuring your structuring, which must also be a crime.

One other comment: I don't think the average bank teller knows all the little details about when a CTR etc should be filed. Regardless of what the law says, reports probably are or aren't being filed somewhat randomly.

Hahaha, I've thought the same general idea before... At the end of the day, your best bet is to deposit amounts which you are personally comfortable with, with timing that you feel will reduce your likelihood of having your bank shut you down...

Actually yes. In IRS BSA guidance this would be called "perfect structuring" since you have structured in a way that no institution you interacted with had a reporting requirement triggered even after aggregation.

If you are using cash.

Currency can be two things. 1) Cash 2) Coins

No structuring is possible with debit card transactions. Debit cards are not currency.

This is like yelling into a ****ing echo chamber at this point.

It's too bad Ariana Afghanistan wasn't confident enough in herself and let the trolls convince her she was wrong. Her money order deposit strategy was a perfectly valid one and broke no laws. Only the imagined laws of amateur wannabe lawyers.

after reading all discussions in different boards, I can see that those who have weaved a tapestry of defense/wall of confidence said they're not doing anything wrong about their MO deposits won't get swayed to quit now or later. they're saying, why quit when everything is going great (for them)? they're not fazed by those IANAL statements repeating structuring and other legal jargon.

all things in MS, including MOs work great until one day, it doesn't. being shutdown by the FI is the least of their worries compared to getting a knock from the door by 'unwanted elements'. that is just the start of their legal problems. JMO.

This is fine for normal amounts for the average customer, but some cc issuers have asked customers to stop paying with MOs mailed in. Mostly this happens with heavy ms'rs. Amex has been known to frown on multiple payments being sent in via MOs in mail. I personally believe it has more to do with their own risk of human error especially if there are multiple MOs in the same envelope. They see nothing wrong with MOs because it's safer than sending in cash in an envelope, but multiples in the same envelope and multiple payments in a month gets frowned upon sometimes.

If your CC issuing bank is local, this could be done easily.

This thread kind of threw me off..Was asked to give info to fill out THREE DIFFERENT forms yesterday to buy some WM money orders.. Decided this was outside my comfort zone (and I usually don't have a problem sharing my information)

I would probably give myself a thousand paper cuts and then cannonball into a pool filled with rubbing alcohol before giving Walmart anything.... Politely saying thanks anyway and hitting the exit is never a bad strategy.