SearchBSA/AML Compliance

BSA/AML Manual Search

Ask the BSA/AML manual a question in plain words: the verdict first, then the rule beside your own procedure, every sentence cited with its date

Cited BSA answers in under a minute, with your own procedure beside the rule.

See one case, screen by screen ↓
demo11of 11 sentencesread back against their passages by the citation checker before the teller saw the answer
demo41secondsmedian time to a cited answer over 30 days of sample questions, against a target of under a minute
demo4of 4 systemsmember-facing systems checked clear before the referral was submitted; nothing reached the member
target100%of answers kept with the source versions they rested on, ready for the examiner
In short

What is BSA/AML Manual Search?

BSA/AML Manual Search lets credit union and bank staff ask BSA questions in plain words and get answers from the BSA/AML manual, FinCEN guidance and the institution's own procedures, with the source cited. The verdict comes first, then what the rule says beside what your procedure says, every sentence cited with its date. Eight agents read, ask back, cite and draft; people decide.

AI use cases in banking: a buyer's guide to agentic AI for bank and credit union operations →

Updated

The problem

Why a BSA/AML manual answer waits for a call-back today

The answer to a teller's question is never in one BSA/AML manual. It is spread across five layers, each with its own date: 31 CFR Chapter X, the NCUA's 12 CFR 748, the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual, FinCEN rulings, FAQs and advisories, and the credit union's own BSA procedures. At the counter, a Member Service Representative phones or emails a BSA team of a few people and waits, while the member waits at the window.

Procedures lag the rules. Norrell's Procedure 6.4 was written in March 2024 and still refers every cash deposit between $8,000 and $10,000, while the SAR FAQs of October 9, 2025 say an amount near $10,000 does not by itself require a SAR. One careless word at the counter can tip off a member, and an answer given by phone leaves nothing to show the examiner what staff were told, or on what basis.

typical20.5millionCTRs received by FinCEN in fiscal 2024, about 56,000 a day, each starting with someone deciding whether cash adds up
typical4SAR FAQsissued by FinCEN and the federal agencies on October 9, 2025, changing near-threshold cash, continuing reviews and no-file records
demo3of 14 proceduresat the sample credit union older than a source they rely on
Where the minutes go in answering one BSA questionestimated
By hand70 minutes
With the solution6 minutes
  • Calling the branch back for the fact that decides the answer10 → 1 min
  • Looking up the member's cash for the business day in the core5 → 0.5 min
  • Finding the rule in 31 CFR Chapter X and the FFIEC manual20 → 0.5 min
  • Checking FinCEN FAQs and rulings for anything newer10 → 0.5 min
  • Finding the procedure section and checking its version10 → 0.5 min
  • Writing the answer, the referral and a record of both15 → 3 min

Estimated split of the BSA team's time on one counter question about cash, by hand and with the agents. It leaves out the time the member waits for a call-back. Our arithmetic, kept modest.

How it works

How one question moves

Eight agents read the question, ask back the deciding fact, cite the rule and the procedure, and draft the referral; people decide.

What comes in
What the agents read5 sources · question, CFR, FFIEC manual, FinCEN, procedures
Agents at work
Question readerfacts, role, member at the window
Then
Fact finderasks back, or reads the core
Rules researcherCFR, FFIEC, FinCEN, with dates
Procedure matcheryour sections and versions
Then
Answer writerverdict first, rule beside procedure
Citation checkerevery sentence
Then
Procedure watchlag noted, update drafted
Referral drafterno tipping off
A person decides
Teller submits, BSA analyst accepts; BSA Officer and committee approve updatesmaker and checker on every change
What comes out
Cited answer
Internal referral
Procedure update
One case, step by step

One question at the window, from the counter to the examiner

Thursday, October 22, 2026, 10:14 am. Jordan Ellery, a Member Service Representative at Norrell Federal Credit Union's Cedar Hollow branch, has a member at window 3. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.

  1. 0110:14 am

    A plain question, and one fact asked back

    Jordan Ellery · Member Service Representative

    Jordan types: “Member wants to deposit $9,500 cash today and $9,500 tomorrow, do I file a CTR?” The question reader sees a member session open at the window and marks the question member-linked. Before answering, the fact finder stops and asks the one fact that would change the answer, citing Norrell's business day that closes at the 6:00 pm cutoff (Procedure 5.2 §2.1) and 31 CFR 1010.313(b).

    “Has this member brought in other cash today, at any branch, ATM or through someone else?” · No other cash today · Yes, there was more · Check the core for me

  2. 02One click

    The verdict first, then the rule beside the procedure

    Answer writer

    Jordan presses Check the core for me: no other cash since the 6:00 pm cutoff on October 21. The verdict comes first, at confidence 0.96: no CTR for either day, but splitting cash may be structuring, so refer it. What the rule says (31 CFR 1010.313(b) and 1010.311, the FFIEC manual's CTR section, 31 CFR 1010.100(xx), the SAR FAQs of October 9, 2025) sits beside what Norrell's procedure says (Procedure 5.2 §2.1, v8; Procedure 6.4 §2, v5).

    A small note: Procedure 6.4 is older than a source it relies on.

  3. 03Any citation

    Every sentence opens its passage

    Citation checker

    The citation checker read all 11 sentences back against their passages before the answer appeared. Clicking 31 CFR 1010.313(b) opens the passage itself, “Aggregation of currency transactions: multiple transactions”, with the sentence the answer relies on highlighted, the version, where it came from and the copy used, synced at 2:00 am. Opening a passage is logged with the answer.

  4. 04At the counter

    What to do now, and the only words to say

    Jordan Ellery · Member Service Representative

    For a Member Service Representative the answer ends in three steps: accept the deposit as usual, review and submit the referral the agents drafted, and, if the member asks, use only the Procedure 6.7 words. A card says the question is kept in restricted history, seen only by the asker and the BSA team, and nothing goes to the member's account notes, statements or online banking.

    “Federal law requires us to report cash over $10,000 in one business day.” Never suggest how to stay under it.

  5. 0510:16 am

    The internal referral, drafted and cited

    Referral drafter and confidentiality guard

    Referral UAR-26-1187, Possible structuring, is marked Restricted. Each fact names its source: Jordan's question, or the core, which shows three cash deposits in the last 90 days, $9,200, $9,600 and $9,450, at Cedar Hollow and Linden Park. The confidentiality guard checks 4 of 4 member-facing systems clear.

  6. 0610:24 am

    A second person accepts the referral

    Owen Tillery · BSA Analyst

    Jordan submits the referral as maker. Owen Tillery, a BSA Analyst, accepts it as checker and it opens in case management as REF-26-1187. What the BSA team decides is recorded there and never shown here.

    Drafted by the agent · Submitted by the teller · Accepted by a BSA analyst

  7. 07The same morning

    The lagging procedure becomes a cited redline

    Procedure watch

    The procedure watch found that Procedure 6.4, Unusual Activity Referrals (v5, March 14, 2024), is older than the SAR FAQs of October 9, 2025. Its draft PU-26-019 strikes “Refer every cash deposit or withdrawal between $8,000 and $10,000” in favor of a referral only when something suggests the member is avoiding a report, and replaces a full memo for every no-SAR closing with a short statement of why. Each change is cited to the FAQs.

    What changes when approved: 37 saved answers to re-check and 1 core banking report to retire.

  8. 08Approved

    The BSA Officer edits, the committee approves

    Marisol Vance and Theodore Brandvold

    Marisol Vance, BSA Officer, edits the draft and sends it to the Compliance Committee as maker. Theodore Brandvold, its chair, approves v6 as checker, effective Monday, November 2, 2026. Only then are the 37 answers re-checked and the branches told. The maker cannot approve her own update.

  9. 09For the examiner

    What staff were told, and on what basis

    Helen Marchetti · Internal Auditor

    The answer is kept as Q-261022-0418 with the sources as they stood that day, and can be replayed against today's. Helen builds the pack for the NCUA examiner for October 1 to 22: 431 answers with their source versions, 19 referrals with dates and authors only, 2 procedure changes with maker and checker, and 6 disagreements with reason codes. Member names are masked.

    The pack never says whether a referral led to a SAR (31 CFR 1020.320(e)).

Who it’s for

Built for everyone who asks or answers a BSA question.

Five people at Norrell Federal Credit Union who carry one question from the counter to the examiner: what their day looked like, and what it looks like now.

JE
Jordan ElleryMember Service Representative · Cedar Hollow branch
Member Service Representative
Before
Serves 60 to 80 members a day, cash included, and phones the BSA team when a question comes up. “The member is at my window. I need the answer now, not tomorrow.”
Now
Asks in plain words, answers one question back or lets the agents check the core, and gets the verdict, what to do now and a drafted referral while the member waits.
MV
Marisol VanceBSA Officer · owns the BSA program, the procedures and a team of five analysts
BSA Officer
Before
Answers the same questions from 38 branches and finds out a procedure is behind when someone asks. “If a teller asks me the same thing twice, my procedure is the problem.”
Now
Sees which procedures are behind a newer source, starts from a cited redline, and approves standard answers, new sources and answer rules.
OT
Owen TilleryBSA Analyst · works referrals and the questions the agents send up
BSA Analyst
Before
Gets referrals with facts retyped from memory and calls that say “call me”. “Send me the facts, not ‘call me’.”
Now
Accepts or returns each referral with its facts cited to the question and the core, and works a queue with clocks for the questions the agents could not settle.
RQ
Rafael QuinteroBranch Manager · Cedar Hollow, 14 staff
Branch Manager
Before
Coaches his staff at the morning huddle without knowing what they keep asking. “Tell me what my branch keeps asking.”
Now
Gets a five-minute huddle drafted from the questions branches ask, assigns it to Cedar Hollow, and the BSA Officer approves it for all branches.
HM
Helen MarchettiInternal Auditor · tests the BSA program and prepares for the NCUA
Internal Auditor
Before
Asks what staff were told on a given day, and finds that phone answers left no record. “What did we tell staff on that day, and on what basis?”
Now
Opens any answer with the sources as they stood that day and builds the examiner pack in one step, with no SAR outcome in it.
Built on the engine

8 agents. Each with one job, and hard limits.

Eight agents read the question, ask back the deciding fact, cite the rule and the procedure, and draft the referral; people decide.

Question reader

Reads the question, the asker's role and branch, the amounts, dates and who, and marks a question that points at a real member as member-linked.

  • Never names a member in an answer
  • Keeps member details only in restricted history
Fact finder

Finds the one missing fact that would change the answer, asks it in plain words, or reads it from the core banking system with the asker's permission, and shows how the answer changes on the other branch.

  • Never assumes a fact
  • Reads only members the asker can open
Rules researcher

Searches 31 CFR Chapter X, 12 CFR 748, the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual and FinCEN rulings, FAQs and advisories by passage, keeping each passage's date and version.

  • Never relies on a proposed rule alone
  • Never uses superseded text for a new answer
Procedure matcher

Finds the institution's procedure sections that apply, with version, effective date and owner, and quotes each section's rule in its own words.

  • Never paraphrases a procedure into something it does not say
Answer writer

Writes the verdict first, then the rule and the procedure side by side, then what to do now, at the depth of the asker's role.

  • Never blends rule and procedure in one sentence
  • Below 0.85 confidence, sends the question to the BSA team
Citation checker

Reads every sentence back against its passage and removes anything the source does not say.

  • Never adds a source
  • Every removal is logged
Procedure watch

Compares each procedure's date with the sources it relies on, flags a lag, drafts the update as a redline cited to the newer source, and lists the answers and training to re-check.

  • Never publishes or approves a procedure
  • Never notifies branches before approval
Referral drafter and confidentiality guard

For a member-linked question, drafts the internal referral from the question and the core, gives only the approved words for the member, and checks account notes, statements, online banking and the contact center's member view for any trace.

  • Never decides or shows whether a SAR is filed
  • Never writes to a member's record
BSA Officer

Edits updates; the committee approves. The agents propose; a named person decides.

Ask in plain words

Ask about any rule, procedure, answer or referral

Staff ask from the question box; the BSA Officer can also ask the assistant about the program itself, or tell it what to do. Every answer points to its source.

Which procedures are behind a newer source?

Three of 14. Procedure 6.4 (March 14, 2024) is older than the SAR FAQs of October 9, 2025, and a draft, PU-26-019, is ready for you. Procedure 8.2 still requires 90-day reviews the FAQs no longer require; PU-26-018 is with the committee. Procedure 4.1 still lists reputational risk, which the FFIEC removed in February 2026.

Do we still have to review an account 90 days after a SAR?

The rule no longer requires it; Norrell's Procedure 8.2 still does, until the committee approves the update now waiting for it. Follow Procedure 8.2 until then: PU-26-018 is with the Compliance Committee for October 27.

What has Cedar Hollow asked about cash this month?

Cedar Hollow asked 11 questions in 30 days; 4 were about cash over two or more days, including today's member-linked question, which is masked. The answers are filtered to Cedar Hollow.

Build the NCUA examiner pack for October

The pack covers every answer given in October with the source versions it rested on, the referrals created (dates and authors only, never outcomes), procedure changes with their maker and checker, and overrides with reason codes. Choose who it is for and it is built.

Every screen

The working solution, as it ships.

13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.

The verdict, then the rule beside the procedureA plain CTR question answered verdict first at 0.96, with what the rule says (31 CFR, the FFIEC BSA/AML manual, the SAR FAQs) beside the credit union's procedure, every source dated.
The deciding fact, asked backBefore answering, the fact finder asks whether the member brought other cash today, with three choices: no, yes, or check the core.
A citation opens its passage31 CFR 1010.313(b) on CTR aggregation, with the sentence the answer relies on highlighted, its version, source and the copy used.
What to do now, at the counterThree steps for a Member Service Representative, the only words for the member from Procedure 6.7, and the restricted handling of a member-linked question.
The referral, drafted and citedReferral UAR-26-1187 for possible structuring, each fact cited to the question or the core, with 4 of 4 member-facing systems checked clear.
Maker and checker on the referralSubmitted by the teller, accepted by a BSA Analyst into case management; the outcome is never shown here.
A procedure update as a cited redlineProcedure 6.4 against the FinCEN SAR FAQs of October 9, 2025: each change cited, why it was flagged, and the answers to re-check.
The committee approvesThe BSA Officer sends, the Compliance Committee chair approves v6, and only then are answers re-checked and branches told.
The BSA team's queueQuestions the agents could not settle, with the passages found, why they stopped, SLA clocks, escalation at 75% and bulk actions.
Rules and guidance, with datesTen source families and 24,617 passages, each with the date of the copy used, a proposed rule marked not in force, and a failed sync with retry.
An answer on recordQ-261022-0418 with the sources as they stood that day, the member masked, and a replay against today's sources.
A huddle from repeated questionsFive minutes on cash over two days, drafted from 23 questions in 14 branches, cited, with three cases and no member names.
The examiner packAnswers with their source versions, referrals by date and author only, procedure changes with maker and checker, and overrides with reason codes.
Governance

Cited, checked and on the record, with no tipping off.

No sentence without a passageEvery sentence is cited to a passage with its date, and the citation checker removes anything the source does not say. Below 0.85 confidence the question goes to the BSA team instead of an answer.
No tipping offMember-linked questions are kept in restricted history and masked. A guard checks account notes, statements, online and mobile banking and the contact center's member view, and a SAR outcome never appears in the solution.
A maker and a checker on every referralThe agents draft the referral; the Member Service Representative submits it, and a BSA Analyst accepts it into case management or returns it with a reason.
Procedures change only with the committeeThe procedure watch drafts; the BSA Officer edits and sends; the Compliance Committee approves or returns with a reason code. The maker can never approve her own update, and branches hear of it only after approval.
Sources, rules and prompts approvedA new source, a standard answer, a change to the answer rules or a new prompt version waits for the BSA Officer. Proposed rules are shown with a “not in force” label and are never the only basis of an answer.
Kept five years, ready for the examinerEvery answer, referral and step is on the audit trail with who, what, when, why and the evidence, kept five years. Export packs for the NCUA examiner, internal audit, the supervisory committee or the BSA Officer never reveal a SAR.
Configuration

Your BSA program's answer rules, not ours

How the agents answer, route and keep records are settings. Changes to answer rules, sources and prompts wait for the BSA Officer, and every change is on the audit trail.

SettingDefaultChoose from
Confidence threshold0.850.80 · 0.85 · 0.90; below it, the question goes to the BSA team
Proposed rulesShown, never the only basisNever sole basis · Hide
Ask back when a deciding fact is missingOnOn · Off; the fact finder asks, or reads the core with the asker's permission
Answer at the asker's depthOnOn · Off; representatives get what to do now, BSA staff the full analysis
Mask member names in history, reports and exportsOn: initial and last four digits onlyOn · Off
Member waitingAnswer within 30 minutesEverything else within 4 business hours; escalate to the BSA Officer at 75% of the clock
Referral acceptance1 business dayA BSA analyst accepts or returns within it
Keep answers, referrals and the audit trail5 yearsThe BSA record retention period (31 CFR 1010.430, 1020.320(d)); legal holds set by the BSA Officer
Connections

Works with the BSA/AML manual, FinCEN guidance and your own procedures

Rules and guidance31 CFR Chapter X, 12 CFR 748, the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual, FinCEN rulings, FAQs and advisories, NCUA letters, synced nightly with dates
Policy and procedure libraryyour BSA procedures and the board-approved BSA/AML program, live
Core banking systemread only: the member session, today's cash and 90 days of cash
Case managementcreates referrals; outcomes stay there
Intranetthe ask box on the staff home page
Single sign-onroles from the staff directory
What it changes

The difference, in numbers.

Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.

target
<1min
median to a cited answer, rule beside procedure, against a call-back from the BSA team
Call the BSA teama call-back
With agentsunder 1 minute
target
100%
of answers kept with the source versions they rested on, ready for the examiner
Every answer
sources as they stood that day
target
14of 14
procedures checked the night a new FinCEN or FFIEC source lands, with the update drafted
Every procedure
checked against each new source

“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample credit union data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate (the time split for one counter question) · “typical” = published figures (FinCEN: 20.5 million CTRs received in fiscal 2024; FinCEN, Federal Reserve, FDIC, NCUA and OCC: four SAR FAQs issued October 9, 2025). Rules named for context: 31 CFR 1010.100(xx), 1010.306, 1010.311, 1010.313, 1010.430 and 1020.320; 31 U.S.C. 5324; 12 CFR 748; the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual. The credit union, branches, members, people and identifiers named on this page are fictional: characters and sample data in the working solution.

Questions

What BSA Officers ask about BSA/AML manual search.

What is BSA/AML Manual Search?

BSA/AML Manual Search lets credit union and bank staff ask BSA questions in plain words and get answers from the BSA/AML manual, FinCEN guidance and the institution's own procedures, with the source cited. The verdict comes first, then what the rule says beside what your procedure says, every sentence cited with its date. Eight agents read, ask back, cite and draft; people decide.

Do I file a CTR for two cash deposits under $10,000 on different days?

In the sample case, no: cash is added up per business day, and a CTR is due only when one business day's cash in or out passes $10,000 (31 CFR 1010.313(b), 1010.311). Before answering, the agents ask, or check the core, whether the member brought other cash that day. Splitting cash to avoid the report may be structuring, so the answer also tells staff to refer it and drafts the referral.

How does it keep up with the FFIEC BSA/AML examination manual and FinCEN guidance?

The rules and guidance are synced nightly, and every passage carries the date of the copy used. A proposed rule is shown as not in force and is never the only basis of an answer. When a new source lands, the procedure watch compares it with every procedure and drafts the update.

What happens when our procedure is older than the rule?

The answer says so at the moment of use, with a small note under the procedure. The procedure watch drafts a redline cited to the newer source, such as the SAR FAQs of October 9, 2025; the BSA Officer edits it and the Compliance Committee approves or returns it. Branches are told only after approval.

Can it tip off a member?

It is built not to. Member-linked questions are kept in restricted history and masked, the only words for the member come from the institution's procedure, and a guard checks that nothing reaches account notes, statements, online banking or the contact center's member view. Whether a referral led to a SAR never appears, not even in the examiner pack.

Can examiners see what staff were told?

Yes. Every answer is kept five years with the source versions it rested on, and can be replayed against today's sources. The audit trail exports a pack for the NCUA or another examiner, internal audit, the supervisory committee or the BSA Officer, with member names masked.

Do people stay in control?

Yes. The agents never file, never decide a SAR, never change a member record and never publish a procedure. The teller submits each referral and a BSA Analyst accepts it; the Compliance Committee approves procedure changes; the BSA Officer approves standard answers, new sources and answer rules. Anyone can disagree with an answer using a reason code.

How long does it take to go live?

The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents: your BSA procedures, your BSA/AML program and a sample of the questions your staff ask. It goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own procedures first.

See it on
your procedures.

We'll run BSA/AML Manual Search on your own BSA procedures and a sample of the questions your staff ask.