It looks like the US government is using the same careful screening process on bank transfers that they use on the no-fly list. Slashdot pointed me to a story from the Associated Press which says that people with Muslim sounding names are having cash transfers blocked. Western Union may be the fastest way to send money, but only for non-muslims, apparently. The article goes on to suggest that, like most of the US's actions after 2001, the blocks are serving to strengthen tools terrorists are more likely to use. "Treasury guidelines are sending more people to informal money transfer networks called "hundis" or "hawalas" that have been used by gangsters and terrorists because they circumvent such scrutiny".