We have a customer who we recently found out is selling money orders and remittance transfers through MoneyGram. Being that they are an agent of MoneyGram, the rules state that they do not have to register with FinCen. Does the fact that they are sending wires still exempt them from registering?

If they are acting purely as an agent, then the mothership is the one requiring registration, not the agent. It doesn't matter if they are selling money orders or sending wires.

But they are still a MSB and you should risk-rate and monitor their activity as you would any other MSB under your policy and procedures.

And be aware of whether the business needs to register with/be licensed by the state.

If the customer is a money transmitter, they are considered as an MSB no matter what else they do. If they are doing wires, it sounds like money transmitting to me.

The question isn't whether the business is an MSB. It's whether it needs to register with FinCEN. I think all agree that this business is an MSB.

Thank you for your responses.