Bessent’s Minnesota Payment Order Sends Banks Racing to Comply

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s demand that lenders collect more information about international money transfers from a pair of counties in Minnesota has some of the biggest US banks racing to comply.

The Treasury Department issued an order last month requiring financial firms to file reports on certain international transactions of at least $3,000 originating from Hennepin and Ramsey counties, which encompass the Twin Cities area. The rules take effect Thursday, and failure to comply could result in fines or even imprisonment.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Golden Valley, Minnesota, in January.

Photographer: Ben Brewer/Bloomberg

Under the so-called “Geographic Targeting Order,” banks and money transmitters have to collect data about the recipients ...