The Treasury Department has debuted rule changes designed to help banks maintain compliance. The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order Friday (June 27) that allows banks to collect tax identification number (TIN) information from a third party rather than from the financial institution’s customer. “We recognize that the way customers interact with banks and receive financial services has changed significantly since 2001, when the initial requirement was enacted into law under the USA PATRIOT Act,” FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said. “This order reduces burden by providing banks with greater flexibility in determining how to fulfill their existing regulatory obligations without presenting a heightened risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit finance activity.” FinCEN issued the order in coordination with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The order lets banks that are under these agencies jurisdiction use an alternative collection method to obtain TIN information from a third-party rather than from the customer, so long as the bank otherwise adheres to the Customer Identification Program (CIP) Rule. That rule, requires written procedures that allow a bank to obtain TIN information prior to opening an account and “are based on the bank’s assessment of the relevant risks.”