Cash withdrawals over £200 will not be automatically reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit

We’ve recently spotted videos circulating on social media which claim that from 18 September, people who withdraw more than £200 in cash a week will have details of their transactions sent to the UK’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

The clips claim this new rule comes from “guidance from HMRC, the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority [FCA]”.

This is not a real policy set to be introduced by the government.

A spokesperson for the National Crime Agency (NCA), which oversees the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), told us this isn’t true, confirming that “the FIU does not receive automatic reports on anyone who removes £200 cash in a seven day period”.

A spokesperson for HMRC also told us: “These claims are completely false and designed to cause undue alarm and fear”, while the FCA said it “is not aware of or involved in this guidance”.

One version of the video claims the supposed new measure “aims to reduce untraceable cash use in high risk areas such as property, car sales and certain cash-in-hand jobs”.

They warn that anyone who takes out more than £200 over a seven day period could be “contacted by HMRC or the police to explain the money’s source” and that “repeat breaches could see you placed on a high risk watch list with temporary freezes on your account, blocked bank cards and possible DWP [Department for Work and Pensions] notifications if you’re on benefits”.

The FCA previously told us that most banks have daily limits on cash withdrawals (such as at cash machines) for operational reasons and that these are set by individual banks and based on several factors.

Banks must also comply with regulations to prevent financial crime, such as identifying and verifying customers, as well as protecting them from fraud and scams. But this does not include automatic reporting of any cash withdrawals over £200 a week.

The FIU is responsible for receiving, analysing and disseminating intelligence submitted through Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). These alert law enforcement to potential money laundering or terrorist financing, and are made by financial institutions and professionals such as solicitors, accountants and estate agents. They can also be submitted by private individuals where they have suspicion or knowledge of money laundering or terrorist financing. But, as noted above, the FIU does not receive these automatically for anyone who takes out more than £200 in a seven day period.

We have also contacted the Treasury about these claims and will update this article if we receive a response.

We have written several fact checks about supposed new government policies on cash withdrawals or purchases in recent weeks. These include false claims that purchases over £1,000 will be automatically reported to HMRC from 2026, and that taking out more than £420 in a single cash withdrawal will be reported to the government’s “anti-fraud unit” from September.

Before sharing content like this that you see on social media, first consider whether it comes from a trustworthy and verifiable source. Our toolkit gives you advice on how to navigate bad information online.