We have a customer that operates a mexican bakery who ONLY can be considered an MSB because they are money transmitters. They are agents of Western Union. On page 2 of the April 26th Interagency Guidance it states "While agents are not presently required to register with FinCEN..." Am I correct in assuming that I do not need to have them complete the registration process (FinCEn Form 107)?

I understand they are still a money services businesses of which I must perform my risk assessment.

Thanks,

Lisa

If they are an agent of WU they do not need to register with FinCEN, but you need to consider them an MSB and monitor their activity to ensure that no other MSB related or suspicious activity is taking place. You should also request a copy of their agreement with WU, the most recent audit that WU conducted on them, and you can ask them for their policies and procedures for the WU activity that they conduct.

With all due respect to Devsfan, I think I have to disagree here. FinCENs recent guidance stated that even with MSBs we do not have to obtain their policies and procedures, and since a WU agent is not considered an MSB, - I would not go to that extent.
I think a site visit could establish that the customer is indeed a WU agent and unless some other activity in the account warrants further investigation, there would be no need to take it any further.
I think it is risky to take policies and procedures from your customers, because if there is a weakness or error in the document, you could be held responsible to correct that weakness since you now have knowledge of it.
IMHO.