1. Record Keeping: We only sell monetary instruments to our customers. The regulation states that a bank must gather the Name of the Purchaser and this has to be kept for 5 years. My question is do we also need the name of the remitter? Our log/excel spread sheet only has the name of the remitter; however, the regulation states Purchaser. Is the name of the Purchaser on the actual cashier check or only the name of the remitter. I'm confused because isn't the purchaser the person who walks through the door and the remitter is the bank's customer so shouldn't we be keeping the name of the purchaser vs. the remitter. If an employee from Walmart purchases a cashier check then Walmart is the remitter and the purchaser is the person who walked through the door who may not be our customer.

2nd Question: 314a Checks: We also use this MI Log for checking 314a request and for those you only check the purchaser so looks like we need to be searching the name of the purchaser, not the remitter? I'm confused how if a bank only sells cashier checks to its customer base that is doesn't have to check these MI for 314a when a purchaser can be anyone who walks through the door and may not be a customer.

I would appreciate some clarification on these questions. Thanks so much for the help

Thanks.

"I'm confused because isn't the purchaser the person who walks through the door and the remitter is the bank's customer so shouldn't we be keeping the name of the purchaser vs. the remitter.If an employee from Walmart purchases a cashier check then Walmart is the remitter and the purchaser is the person who walked through the door who may not be our customer. "

That is correct, the information on the purchaser is the information that is required required to be obtained. In your example, if the Walmart employee does not have a deposit account with the bank, you have sold a MI to a non-customer and you need the requisite information for sales to non-customers.

You are only required to check the purchaser on 314A searches, there is no mention of a remitter anywhere in the 314A instructions or MI information retention requirements.

Thank you.

The purchaser information is not on the MI so why is 314a so concerned with the purchaser and not the remitter?

Because apparently banks allow purchasers to put any name they want to as a remitter on an Official Check??

Ideally, if you wish to sell them to customers (but many customers, especially corporations, send someone to act as agent for the purchase), your policy should allow for the sale to a customer/remitter even when the agent is not a customer.

Also ideally, your spreadsheet can account for both situations by including a purchaser column (the individual making the purchase) and a remitter column (the person named as remitter on the check). Just remember, though, that the record keeping rule is that you collect and retain info on the purchaser, and that's also the information you use in doing your 314a searches.