Your hotel bills now limited to $10K?

Forbes reports that in its continuing efforts to discourage international travel and prevent Americans from spending money overseas, the Obama administration's Department of Homeland Security will now scan your credit cards to make sure you're not taking with you or bringing in any prepaid credit card worth more than $10,000 (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).

[U]nder a proposed amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) will also require travelers to declare the value of prepaid cards that they are carrying, known now as “tangible prepaid access devices.”

Expected to be finalized by the end of this year, the cross-border reporting modifications stem from a broader October 2011 definition of payment methods and form factors that replaced the term “stored value” with the term “prepaid access” in an effort to more accurately describe the process of accessing funds held by a payment provider.

Enforceability falls to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection both within the Department of Homeland Security, which is already developing advanced handheld card readers that can ascertain whether a traveler is carrying a credit card, debit card, or prepaid card. This differentiation is important because only prepaid card balances will need to be added to declaration report forms.

That ought to speed up those airport security lines.

Rumors that Michelle Obama and her entourage will be exempt could not be confirmed.

More here.