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8000 - Miscellaneous Statutes and Regulations
Subpart DSpecial Rules for Money Services
Businesses
§ 103.41 Registration of money services businesses.
(a) Registration requirement.--(1) In general.
Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, relating
to agents, each money services business (whether or not licensed as a
money services business by any State) must register with the Department
of the Treasury and, as part of that registration, maintain a list of
its agents as required by 31 U.S.C.
5330 and this section. This section does not apply to the
United States Postal Service, to agencies of the United States, of any
State, or of any political subdivision of a State, or to a person to
the extent that the person is an issuer, seller, or redeemer of stored
value.
(2) Agents. A person that is a money -services
business solely because that person serves as an agent of another money
services business, see
§ 103.11(uu), is not
required to register under this section, but a money services business
that engages in activities described in § 103.11(uu) both on its own
behalf and as an agent for others must register under this section. For
example, a supermarket corporation that acts as an agent for an issuer
of money orders and performs no other services of a nature and value
that would cause the corporation to be a money services business, is
not required to register; the answer would be the same if the
supermarket corporation served as an agent both of a money order issuer
and of a money transmitter. However, registration would be required
if
{{8-31-99 p.8506}}the supermarket
corporation, in addition to acting as an agent of an issuer of money
orders, cashed checks or exchanged currencies (other than as an agent
for another business) in an amount greater than $1,000 in currency or
monetary or other instruments for any person on any day, in one or more
transactions.
(3) Agency status. The determination whether a person
is an agent depends on all the facts and circumstances.
(b) Registration procedures.--(1) In general.
(i) A money services business must be registered by filing such
form as FinCEN may specify with the Detroit Computing Center of the
Internal Revenue Service (or such other location as the form may
specify). The information required by
31 U.S.C. 5330(b) and any
other information required by the form must be reported in the manner
and to the extent required by the form.
(ii) A branch office of a money services business is not required
to file its own registration form. A money services business must,
however, report information about its branch locations or offices as
provided by the instructions to the registration form.
(iii) A money services business must retain a copy of any
registration form filed under this section and any registration number
that may be assigned to the business at a location in the United States
and for the period specified in
§ 103.38(d).
(2) Registration period. A money services business
must be registered for the initial registration period and each renewal
period. The initial registration period is the two-calendar-year period
beginning with the calendar year in which the money services business
is first required to be registered. However, the initial registration
period for a money services business required to register by December
31, 2001 (see paragraph (b)(3) of this section) is the
two-calendar-year period beginning 2002. Each two-calendar-year period
following the initial registration period is a renewal period.
(3) Due date. The registration form for the initial
registration period must be filed on or before the later of December
31, 2001, and the end of the 180-day period beginning on the day
following the date the business is established. The registration form
for a renewal period must be filed on or before the last day of the
calendar year preceding the renewal period.
(4) Events requiring re-registration. If a money
services business registered as such under the laws of any State
experiences a change in ownership or control that requires the business
to be re-registered under State law, the money services business must
also be re-registered under this section. In addition, if there is a
transfer of more than 10 percent of the voting power or equity
interests of a money services business (other than a money services
business that must report such transfer to the Securities and Exchange
Commission), the money services business must be re-registered under
this section. Finally, if a money services business experiences a more
than 50-per cent increase in the number of its agents during any
registration period, the money services business must be re-registered
under this section. The registration form must be filed not later than
180 days after such change in ownership, transfer of voting power or
equity interests, or increase in agents. The calendar year in which the
change, transfer, or increase occurs is treated as the first year of a
new two-year registration period.
(c) Persons required to file the registration form.
Under 31 U.S.C. 5330(a),
any person who owns or controls a money services business is
responsible for registering the business; however, only one
registration form is required to be filed for each registration period.
A person is treated as owning or controlling a money services business
for purposes of filing the registration form only to the extent
provided by the form. If more than one person owns or controls a money
services business, the owning or controlling persons may enter into an
agreement designating one of them to register the business. The failure
of the designated person to register the money services business does
not, however, relieve any of the other persons who own or control the
business of liability for the failure to register the business. See
paragraph (e) of this section, relating to consequences of the failure
to comply with 31 U.S.C. 5330 or this section.
(d) List of agents.--(1) In general. A money
services business must prepare and maintain a list of its agents. The
initial list of agents must be prepared by January 1,
2002,
{{8-31-99 p.8507}}and must be
revised each January 1, for the immediately preceding 12 month period;
for money services businesses established after December 31, 2001, the
initial agent list must be prepared by the due date of the initial
registration form and must be revised each January 1 for the
immediately preceding 12-month period. The list is not filed with the
registration form but must be maintained at the location in the United
States reported on the registration form under paragraph (b)(1) of this
section. Upon request, a money services business must make its list of
agents available to FinCEN and any other appropriate law enforcement
agency (including, without limitation, the examination function of the
Internal Revenue Service in its capacity as delegee of Bank Secrecy Act
examination authority). Requests for information made pursuant to the
preceding sentence shall be coordinated through FinCEN in the manner
and to the extent determined by FinCEN. The original list of agents and
any revised list must be retained for the period specified in
§ 103.38(d).
(2) Information included on the list of
agents.--(i) In general. Except as provided in
paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section, a money services business must
include the following information with respect to each agent on the
list (including any revised list) of its agents--
(A) The name of the agent, including any trade names or
doing-business-as names;
(B) The address of the agent, including street address, city,
state, and ZIP code;
(C) The telephone number of the agent;
(D) The type of service or services (money orders, traveler's
checks, check sales, check cashing, currency exchange, and money
transmitting) the agent provides;
(E) A listing of the months in the 12 months immediately
preceding the date of the most recent agent list in which the gross
transaction amount of the agent with respect to financial products or
services issued by the money services business maintaining the agent
list exceeded $100,000. For this purpose, the money services gross
transaction amount is the agent's gross amount (excluding fees and
commissions) received from transactions of one or more businesses
described in § 103.11(uu);
(F) The name and address of any depository institution at which
the agent maintains a transaction account (as defined in
12 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(C)) for all
or part of the funds received in or for the financial products or
services issued by the money services business maintaining the list,
whether in the agent's or the business principal's name;
(G) The year in which the agent first became an agent of the
money services business; and
(H) The number of branches or subagents the agent has.
(ii) Special rules. Information about agent volume
must be current within 45 days of the due date of the agent list. The
information described by paragraphs (d)(2)(i)(G) and (d)(2)(i)(H) of
this section is not required to be included in an agent list with
respect to any person that is an agent of the money services business
maintaining the list before the first day of the month beginning after
February 16, 2000 so long as the information described by paragraphs
(d)(2)(i)(G)and (d)(2)(i)(H) of this section is made available upon the
request of FinCEN and any other appropriate law enforcement agency
(including, without limitation, the examination function of the
Internal Revenue Service in its capacity as delegee of Bank Secrecy Act
examination authority).
(e) Consequences of failing to comply with
31 U.S.C. 5330 or the
regulations thereunder. It is unlawful to do business without
complying with 31 U.S.C. 5330 and this section. A failure to comply
with the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 5330 or this section includes the
filing of false or materially incomplete information in connection with
the registration of a money services business. Any person who fails to
comply with any requirement of 31 U.S.C. 5330 or this section shall be
liable for a civil penalty of $5,000 for each violation. Each day a
violation of 31 U.S.C. 5330 or this section continues constitutes a
separate violation. In addition, under
31 U.S.C. 5320, the Secretary
of the Treasury may bring a civil action to enjoin the violation. See
18 U.S.C. 1960 for a criminal penalty for failure to comply with the
registration requirements of 31 U.S.C. 5330 or this section.
{{8-31-99 p.8508}}
(f) Effective date. This section is effective September
20, 1999. Registration of money services businesses under this section
will not be required prior to December 31, 2001.
[Codified to 31 C.F.R. § 103.41]
[Source: Section 103.41 added at 64 Fed. Reg. 45451,
August 20, 1999, effective September 20, 1999]
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