The New York State Department of Financial Services announced a consent order requiring Block, Inc. to pay a USD 40 million penalty and retain an independent monitor after identifying significant Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) program failures and breaches of the Department’s money transmitter and virtual currency regulations on the Cash App platform. The monitor must conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Block’s regulatory compliance and remediation efforts. The investigation found inadequate customer due diligence and customer identification procedures, insufficient risk-based controls to prevent money laundering and illicit activity, and ineffective and untimely transaction monitoring. DFS also cited lax treatment of high-risk Bitcoin transactions that allowed largely anonymous activity to proceed without appropriate scrutiny, and a severe transaction-alert backlog linked to rapid growth between 2019 and 2020 that went unaddressed for a significant period. Block has been licensed in New York for money transmission since 2013 and for virtual currency business through Cash App since 2018; DFS noted the firm’s cooperation and stated it has committed resources to remediate the identified shortcomings.
New York State Department of Financial Services 2025-04-10
New York State Department of Financial Services secures USD 40 million settlement with Block over Cash App AML and virtual currency compliance failures
The New York State Department of Financial Services ordered Block, Inc. to pay a USD 40 million penalty and appoint an independent monitor due to significant Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering failures on the Cash App platform. The investigation found inadequate customer due diligence, insufficient risk controls, and ineffective transaction monitoring, especially with high-risk Bitcoin transactions. Block has cooperated and committed to addressing these deficiencies.