Saving Privacy Act

This bill focuses on financial privacy and limits government tracking of people’s money. It makes the government get a search warrant to see your bank records, removes many exceptions, and adds tougher penalties if agencies or banks break these rules. It also lets people go to court to make the government follow these protections and cuts back several parts of the Bank Secrecy Act that require certain reports and penalties .

It would shut down the SEC’s market trade tracking system (the Consolidated Audit Trail) within 30 days, block any similar database of Americans’ personal trading data unless Congress passes a new law, and require fee refunds within a year . It would also ban a U.S. central bank digital currency for individuals and stop agencies from offering related accounts or services directly to the public. For payment apps and online marketplaces, reports would only be sent if payments are over $20,000 and involve more than 200 transactions in a year, starting with returns for years after 2021. The bill protects personal use of crypto and self‑hosted wallets by preventing federal agencies from restricting them for everyday purchases. Finally, major federal rules could not take effect unless Congress votes to approve them, with added reporting, limited emergency use for 90 days, and regular review and possible sunset of existing rules .

• Who is affected: bank customers, small sellers on payment apps, crypto users, banks and brokers, and federal agencies like the SEC and the Federal Reserve .
• What changes: warrant required for bank records; stronger criminal and civil penalties; ability to ask courts to enforce privacy rules; rollback of several Bank Secrecy Act sections; SEC’s audit trail ended and fees refunded; no U.S. CBDC for individuals; higher 1099‑K reporting thresholds; protection for self‑hosted crypto wallets; major rules need a vote of Congress .
• When: SEC system ends within 30 days; related fees refunded within 1 year; new 1099‑K standard applies to returns for years after 2021; rule reviews begin 180 days after enactment and unapproved existing rules can sunset after 5 years .