Cash Transaction Reports in Tanzania: USD 10,000 CTRs, USD 1,000 EFT Reports and the Five-Working-Day Deadline (2026)
Short answer: On Mainland Tanzania, reporting persons must report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) cash transactions of USD 10,000 or more and electronic funds transfers (EFTs) of USD 1,000 or more, in shillings or the foreign-currency equivalent, in a single transaction. Amounts are converted at the Bank of Tanzania's official rate at the time, and reports are due no later than five working days after the day of the transaction. The rules are in the Anti-Money Laundering (Electronic Funds Transfer and Cash Transaction Reporting) Regulations, 2019 (GN No. 420).
This guide is for money laundering reporting officers (MLROs), compliance teams and core-banking, payments and IT teams at Tanzanian banks, microfinance service providers, bureaux de change, money transmitters, insurers, securities firms, gaming operators and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs). It is a practical guide, not legal advice. GN 420 applies to Mainland Tanzania. Zanzibar has its own Anti-Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, No. 10 of 2009, and its own regulations, which this guide does not cover.
The two reports at a glance
| Cash transaction report (CTR) | Electronic funds transfer report | |
|---|---|---|
| What triggers it | A currency transaction of USD 10,000 or more, in shillings or any foreign currency, in a single transaction (regulation 5(1)(a)) | An EFT of USD 1,000 or more, in shillings or any foreign currency, in a single transaction (regulation 5(1)(b)) |
| Content | The First Schedule form | The Second Schedule form |
| Deadline | Not later than five working days after the day of the transaction (regulation 12(a)) | The same |
| How | "electronically or otherwise as required by FIU" (regulation 12(b)) | The same |
| FIU abbreviation | CTR | EFTR in the FIU's 2014/15 annual report; ETR in its 2024 enforcement manual |
A "currency transaction" includes any cash-based deposit, withdrawal, exchange, payment or receipt of currency, in shillings or any foreign currency (regulation 3). The two duties began in May 2019; when ESAAMLG's assessors visited in July 2019, the authorities had not yet started receiving the reports.
Who files
Regulation 5 applies to every reporting person: the banks, financial institutions, cash dealers and other businesses listed in section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423 R.E. 2023. Three groups have specific rules:
- Advocates, notaries and independent legal professionals (regulation 6) report currency transactions only when they assist clients in preparing or executing transactions for the purchase or sale of real property or commercial enterprises; the management of funds, securities or other assets; the opening or management of bank accounts, savings accounts or portfolios; the organisation of contributions; the creation, management or direction of corporations or legal entities; or the buying or selling of business entities. The duty also applies when they act for a client in any financial or real estate transaction.
- Accountants and accounting firms (regulation 7) report currency transactions only in listed situations, chiefly when, on behalf of any person or entity, they receive or pay funds, buy or sell securities, shares, real property or business assets or entities, transfer funds or securities, or manage funds.
- Gaming operators (regulation 8) report cash received from a customer, and cash paid out in the redemption of chips, tokens or plaques, front cash withdrawals, safekeeping withdrawals, advances on any form of credit, and payments on bets, including slot jackpots.
Converting to US dollars
The thresholds are in US dollars; most transactions are not. Regulation 5(4) requires reporting persons to "pay regard to the official conversion rate of the Bank of Tanzania that is in effect at the time of the transaction". Keep the rate used with each threshold test, so you can show later why a transaction was or was not reported.
Linked transactions within 24 hours
Regulation 11(1) treats "two or more related currency transactions or related electronic funds transfers that are conducted within 24 hours, and that amount to an equivalent of ten thousand United States’ Dollars or more in any currency" as a single transaction for reporting.
- Related means the reporting person knows or ought to know that they are conducted by or on behalf of the same person or entity, or are destined to the same recipient (regulation 11(2)).
- Not related are transactions by different persons or entities that are destined to the same person (regulation 11(3)).
Regulation 11(1) uses the USD 10,000 figure for related EFTs as well, not the USD 1,000 EFT threshold. Apply it as written, and ask the FIU if your system design depends on another reading.
Deliberate splitting is also a sign of suspicion. The FIU's compliance guide for DNFBPs lists among its indicators a customer who "attempts to divide the amounts of any operations below the applicable designated threshold of reporting". Refer such patterns to your MLRO: see our STR guide.
Domestic or international EFTs?
GN 420 is unclear on whether domestic transfers are reportable:
- Pointing to domestic transfers: regulation 5(1)(b) covers "an Electronic Funds Transfer" of USD 1,000 or more, and regulation 3 defines an electronic funds transfer as "any domestic electronic funds transfer or international electronic funds transfer whichever is applicable".
- Pointing to international transfers only: the Second Schedule form is titled "International Electronic Funds Transfer Report (Banking Transactions)", and the sanctions power in regulation 13(1) refers only to a failure to report "international electronic funds transfer".
Ask the FIU for its position in writing before you design, or switch off, domestic EFT reporting.
Deadline and channel
Regulation 12 requires each EFT report or currency transaction report to reach the FIU "not later than five working days after the day of the transaction", and "electronically or otherwise as required by FIU". The FIU's electronic reporting system is its goAML portal, goaml.fiu.go.tz, which you must register on before you can use it: see our goAML registration guide. The portal's default currency is TZS and its goAML XML schema version is 5.0.2. Confirm with the FIU how it wants threshold reports submitted before you build an extract from your core systems.
What each report contains
Regulation 4 requires every EFT to be accompanied by the Second Schedule information, and every currency transaction to contain the First Schedule information, so the data needs to be captured with the transaction.
| Report | Parts | Main content |
|---|---|---|
| CTR (First Schedule) | A to G | A: reporting person. B: the transaction, including its purpose and details and the currency and amount. C: the account, if any. D: the person conducting the transaction, including the type of identity. E and F: the entity or person on whose behalf it is conducted, if any. G: the beneficiary customer |
| EFT report (Second Schedule) | A to J | B: ordering date, value date, currency, amount, exchange rate and purpose. C: the customer ordering the transfer. Other parts: Bank Identification Code (BIC), name and address for the sending, ordering, correspondent, reimbursement, intermediary and account-with institutions |
Regulations 9 and 10 sit behind the EFT report. An ordering institution must keep all originator and beneficiary information for ten years, and must not execute a transfer that lacks the required information. Intermediary institutions must keep that information for at least ten years, take reasonable measures to identify transfers that lack it, and have risk-based policies on when to execute, reject or suspend such transfers and how to follow up.
Penalties
| Source | What it provides |
|---|---|
| GN 420, regulation 13 | The FIU or a regulator may impose administrative sanctions for failing to report currency transactions or international EFTs, including a fine of TZS 1 million to 5 million for each day of default. It must first give written notice of the alleged non-compliance, the intended sanction and its extent. The reporting person may make written representations within the period in the notice, which is not more than five working days |
| The Act, section 33(1) | A general penalty, on conviction, for breaches of the Act or regulations for which no specific penalty is stipulated. For an individual: a fine of TZS 100 million to 500 million, or the total amount of money involved or market value of the property, whichever is greater, or up to three years' imprisonment. For a body corporate: a fine of not less than TZS 500 million |
| FIU enforcement manual, 2024 | Minimum penalties, as FIU guidance. Failure to submit CTRs, ETRs or other reports apart from STRs: TZS 300,000 on the chief compliance officer and TZS 1,000,000 on the institution. Late submission: TZS 300,000 on the chief compliance officer and TZS 3,000,000 on the institution, plus TZS 50,000 for each day the contravention continues |
Related thresholds
| Threshold | Rule |
|---|---|
| Occasional transactions above the shilling equivalent of USD 15,000, in one operation or several that appear linked | Customer due diligence (regulation 8(2) of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2022, as amended by GN No. 853E) |
| Cash transactions with a customer at or above the shilling equivalent of USD 15,000 | The trigger for suspicious transaction reports by dealers in precious metals or stones (regulation 16(3)(b) of the same Regulations) |
| Cash or bearer negotiable instruments of USD 10,000 or more carried into or out of Tanzania | Declared to customs, which passes the information to the FIU (section 25(1) of the Act; GN No. 268 of 2016) |
For the law behind these rules, see our guide to Tanzania's Anti-Money Laundering Act and 2022 Regulations, and for an overview of reporting, our Tanzania FIU goAML reporting guide. If you are choosing software to run the threshold tests, our buyer's guide to AML compliance software in Tanzania sets out what to test.
CTR and EFT checklist
- List your licences and check whether regulations 6 to 8 apply to you.
- Test cash transactions against USD 10,000 and EFTs against USD 1,000 at the Bank of Tanzania's official rate in effect at the time of each transaction, and keep the rate.
- Aggregate related transactions within 24 hours as regulation 11 describes, across branches and channels.
- Get the FIU's written position on domestic EFTs.
- Capture the First and Second Schedule data with each transaction, and do not execute EFTs that lack the required originator or beneficiary information.
- File each report no later than five working days after the day of the transaction.
- Refer patterns just below the thresholds to your MLRO.
- Keep originator and beneficiary information for at least ten years.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cash transaction reporting threshold in Tanzania?
USD 10,000 or more, or the equivalent in Tanzanian shillings or any foreign currency, in a single transaction (regulation 5(1)(a) of GN 420), converted at the Bank of Tanzania's official rate at the time of the transaction.
What is the EFT reporting threshold?
USD 1,000 or more, or the equivalent, in a single transaction (regulation 5(1)(b)). Whether domestic transfers are included is unclear on the text, so confirm with the FIU.
When are CTRs and EFT reports due?
Not later than five working days after the day of the transaction (regulation 12).
Do linked transactions count?
Yes. Two or more related currency transactions or EFTs conducted within 24 hours that together reach USD 10,000 count as one transaction (regulation 11).
Do lawyers and accountants file CTRs?
Only for the activities listed in regulations 6 and 7. Gaming operators report the cash flows listed in regulation 8.
Automating cash and EFT reports with Creodata
Creodata's goAML Reporting Platform generates schema-valid goAML XML from core-banking data, validates every report against the schema and business rules before submission, and keeps an immutable record of every report, amendment and filing. See goAML reporting software for Tanzania, and AML compliance software in Tanzania for the monitoring and case management behind each report.
See it on your own transaction data — request a demo.
More guides for Tanzania
- Tanzania FIU goAML Reporting: A Practical Guide for Banks
- FIU goAML Registration in Tanzania: Who Registers, the Portal's Steps and What to Prepare (2026)
- Suspicious Transaction Reports in Tanzania: The 24-Hour Rule, the STR Form and Tipping-Off (2026)
- Tanzania's Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423, and the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2022 Explained
- AML Compliance Software in Tanzania: A Buyer's Guide for Banks, SACCOS and Fintechs (2026)