Cash App parent to pay $40 million for alleged BSA/AML violations in New York

Block Inc., maker of the popular Cash App, has been hit with a $40 million fine by New York for its alleged failure to report suspicious activity. The move marks the latest in a string of recent state and federal enforcement actions against the company.

Cash App is a peer-to-peer money transfer service people use to send and receive cash and virtual currency, like Bitcoin, to one another. As a money transfer service, Cash App is required to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The BSA/AML rules require banks, financial firms and money transfer businesses to screen customers and their transactions for links to criminal activity, and report any suspicions to authorities.