Saving Privacy Act Proposes Major Financial Rule Changes: Impacts Bank Records, Crypto, Online Sales, and Agency Power

The Saving Privacy Act introduces a sweeping set of changes aimed at reshaping financial privacy, digital currency rules, and how federal agencies create regulations. This multi-part legislation touches everything from government access to your bank records and how online sales are taxed, to the future of digital dollars and the tracking of stock trades.

Your Financial Info: More Private, More Scrutinized?

Several parts of this bill focus on who gets to see your financial data. It significantly strengthens the Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA) of 1978. Under Title I and II, the government would generally need a specific type of search warrant to access financial records held by banks, aligning financial privacy more closely with Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. Title VI backs this up by adding teeth: hefty criminal penalties (up to $5,000 fines and 5 years jail time) and increased civil fines (minimum $1,000 per day per violation) for agencies or institutions that unlawfully access or share your financial info. However, Title I also requires banks to keep more detailed transaction records identifiable to specific customers and lowers the reporting threshold for certain transactions to $3,000, potentially increasing scrutiny on smaller sums.

Digital Dollars, Online Hustles, and Crypto Freedom

The act directly addresses the evolving digital economy. Title VII tackles the tax headache for online sellers and gig workers by reversing a recent change. It pushes the reporting threshold for platforms like PayPal or Venmo back up to the classic $20,000 and 200 transactions per year before a 1099-K form is triggered, retroactive to tax years after December 31, 2021. Forget getting taxed on selling a few old items online. Title IV explicitly prohibits the Federal Reserve or Treasury from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) directly to individuals or maintaining individual accounts, keeping the government out of the direct digital banking business. Furthermore, Title VIII, the "Keep Your Coins Act," aims to protect your right to use "convertible virtual currency" (like Bitcoin) for personal purchases using your own "self-hosted wallet" without federal agency interference.

Hitting the Brakes on Regulation and Data Collection

This legislation takes aim at large-scale data collection and the regulatory process itself. Title III mandates the complete termination of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) – a massive database tracking all securities transactions – within 30 days, citing data security and overreach concerns. Fees already collected for CAT must be reimbursed within a year. It also prohibits federal agencies from creating similar centralized databases without specific legal permission. Title V introduces significant hurdles for federal agencies creating new regulations. Agencies must publish detailed justifications, including cost-benefit analyses. More importantly, any "major rule" – defined as having a $100 million or more annual economic impact – would require explicit approval from Congress via a joint resolution before taking effect. While there's an emergency exception, this fundamentally shifts power to Congress and could significantly slow down the pace of new federal regulations. It also mandates a review and potential sunsetting of many existing rules if not re-approved by Congress.