By Randy Tucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

If you're a Saks Fifth Avenue or Saks Off 5th customer who was planning to pay off your credit card account this month with cash, you'll have to make other plans if your balance exceeds $350.

That's because federal authorities have ordered the department stores' parent, Saks Inc., to limit monthly cash payments on credit card accounts to $350 at all its stores.

The order - which does not affect cash customers or those who pay their credit card bills with a check or money order - was handed down earlier this month by the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency. The agency acted after it discovered that large cash payments on some of the company's credit card accounts were not reported in time to meet federal deadlines.

Banks and other financial institutions must file currency transaction reports when they receive currency deposits or currency credit card payments from their customers that are above $10,000.

It's a way for the government to track possible money laundering practices, and has been used as a tool to detect international money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

"We have numerous customers with proprietary credit card balances in excess of $10,000, and how they chose to pay on their accounts was at their discretion.'' Julia Bentley, a spokesman for Saks, said.

Saks customers have been notified of the cash limit for paying credit card accounts with inserts in their statements and through handouts at the cash register.

Bentley said Saks has also upgraded its information systems to speed up the filing of currency transaction reports.

"We now believe we have the necessary system upgrades in place, and we are filing all required currency transaction reports on time,'' Bentley said. "Our expectation is that the currency limitation on credit card payments will be temporary.''

E-mail rtucker@enquirer.com