Banks banned from asking about immigration status—financial access expands
H.R. 8643 — Financial Access Protection Act · Filed by Ritchie Torres (D-NY) · Introduced Apr 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits banks, credit unions, and consumer reporting agencies from collecting, retaining, or sharing information about a customer's citizenship or immigration status—and bars federal banking regulators from requiring or encouraging such collection. The bill explicitly preserves banks' existing obligations under anti-money-laundering and sanctions-compliance law. The primary beneficiaries are immigrants and non-citizens who wish to access financial services without disclosing immigration status; the stated intent is to expand financial access.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to remove a discretionary data-collection barrier (immigration-status inquiry) that financial institutions may use to exclude or discriminate against non-citizens and immigrants. It is a civil-rights and financial-access measure, not a deregulation or subsidy.
What the text implies
- Banks may face operational friction if they have built compliance workflows that conflate immigration-status collection with AML/KYC (know-your-customer) procedures; the bill requires them to separate these, which may require system changes but does not eliminate AML obligations.
- The bill does not address whether banks can infer immigration status from other data (e.g., address, phone, language preference); enforcement may depend on regulatory guidance and case law.
- Consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus) are explicitly covered, meaning they cannot collect or retain immigration-status data—a significant shift from current practice in some contexts.
Who it affects
Ordinary people—particularly immigrants and non-citizens—gain clearer legal protection against financial discrimination based on immigration status, reducing barriers to banking and credit access. The bill does not eliminate legitimate anti-money-laundering compliance; it only prevents immigration-status collection as a separate, discretionary practice. This expands financial inclusion without compromising law-enforcement tools.
Who stands to gain
- Immigrants and non-citizens seeking financial services
- Community banks and credit unions serving immigrant populations (reduced compliance friction)
Named in the bill
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Consumer reporting agencies, Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, Fair Credit Reporting Act
Where it stands
- Apr 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 5, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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