I know that Ken gave the opinion in last weeks Webinar on MSBs that businesses who act as WU agents and who disburse funds to beneficiaries of WU money transfers by means of printing and then cashing the WU money order are to be considered as an MSB if such transactions exceed $1,000 in any day for any one customer. Does everyone agree with this interpretation (no offense to Ken)? I contacted WU via e-mail (since I could not get any contact number on their Web site) with this question and will share their reply when and if I get one. I will also contact FinCEN with this same question. Also, have any of you gone through examinations and how did the examiner consider these WU agents?

I would think they are an MSB because they exceed the $1,000 - the question it raises for me is - are they soley acting as an WU agent at that time or have they now become a MO redeemer outside of their agent status and need to register w/ FINCen as such. Don't you love people that answer a ? w/ a ?!

To Anon, the only MOs that are cashed and then deposited to their account are WU MOs that are printed that day and at the customer's location, as evidenced by the information on the MO. This is the reason that I am having a hard time accepting the fact that they must register as an MSB outside of their WU agent status, since their sole activity is WU related. Any further thoughts on this?

No offense taken, you have made my day!

It's crucial that when you recognize there is a grey area, but you want to take a certain course, that you find some way to back your actions up in advance, not in arrears.

Ken, I wrote to WU but have not yet received a reply. I will call FinCEN, but you know what results that will bring. I will also speak with the customer to see what they might be able to add. What else do you suggest I do?

We have a customer who is a mini-mart/gas station/laundromat. They sell money orders and have an ATM on their premises. Would they be considered an MSB and if so, what do we need to do with them?

If they sell money orders in excess of $1,000 in one business day to one customer, then they would be defined as an MSB. If this is the case, you need to make sure they are registered with FinCEN as an MSB, registered with the State if applicable, and you need to monitor these accounts for suspicious activity. If this business is an MSB, I would encourage you to read the other MSB posts...there is some great information and this is currently a hot topic that the examiners will be addressing soon (or so they tell us).

We asked FinCEN this question and they do not consider the WU transaction in excess of $1,000 on any one day as requiring the merchant to file as an MSB. We have had a regulatory examination and they did not cite us.

Devsfan,
I suggest you stick with the plan you have made, call FinCEN for advice at (800) 949-2732, and document the conversation. My approach would be to provide them with my suggested response rather than just asking the question straight out. Your argument is that cashing the check is simply an ancillary service which is directly related to the wire transfer, the service for which they are already registered; i.e. no wire transfer, no cashed check.

If you get the answer you want, it would be nice if they said they would write you a letter to that effect, but it's not likely. Failing that, get the contact information for the person you spoke with and then write him or her a letter recapping your conversation with 100% accuracy. The purpose of the letter is not to elicit a response, but to provide you with documentation for your stance.

Of late, the folks at FinCEN have been the source of well reasoned responses, but it's not like they have a reference book that no one else has - they are giving out opinions and there is some variation among them. I would not encourage anyone to rely on an undocumented phone call even if he or she was the one who made the call. I certainly would not rely on results from telephone queries reported by others.

Don't most money orders have a limit of $1,000? If a customer sells Traveler's Express money orders, wouldn't they just be an agent of Traveler's Express?

In the case of our customer being only an agent, is it required that we have the required documentation from the MSB of which our customer is an agent?

Your customer (the agent) should be able to provide you with a copy of their agreement with the MSB, the policies/procedures that the MSB imposes on them, any audits that the MSB has performed on the agent, etc.