What is American MSB? American MSB Review, Features

MSB in the United States is a type of financial license regulated and issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an agency under the U.S. Treasury Department. MSB stands for Money Services Business, and its main regulatory targets are businesses and companies related to money services, including digital currency, virtual currency and other transactions.

About MSB

On February 24, 2012, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final notice requiring electronic filing of most FinCEN reports by July 1, 2012. Institutions are strongly encouraged to begin using the BSA e-filing system as soon as possible.

With few exceptions, every money services business (MSB) must register with the Department of the Treasury. A person who is a physical servicer simply because he or she acts as an agent for another physical servicer does not need to register.

Registration of an MSB is the responsibility of the owner or controlling person of the MSB and must be filed by the registration deadline. The Money Services Business Registration Form (FinCEN Form 107) must be completed and signed by the owner or controlling person and filed within 180 days of the MSB's incorporation date.

Registration must be renewed every two years. Re-registration is required in limited circumstances.

A copy of the submitted registration form and other supporting documents must be kept at a location in the United States for five years.

Violations of registration requirements may result in civil and criminal penalties.

MSB Application Requirements

1. One or more legal persons and shareholders, with valid identification documents (ID card, passport);

2. There are no duplicate company names (two or more);

3. Registered capital of US$50,000, including the number of shares issued when the company was established;

4. Registered address in the United States.

Frequently asked questions

Q : How quickly does the registrant information appear on the MSB registrant search page?

A : FinCEN will update the MSB Registrant Search webpage weekly. Cash service businesses will be added to the webpage within approximately two weeks of electronically submitting their Registration of Money Services Businesses (RMSB) (Form 107). In contrast, the paper version of the RMSB Form 107 will take approximately 60 days to be processed and posted to the MSB Registrant Search webpage. MSBs are strongly encouraged to register using FinCEN's BSA electronic filing system.

FinCEN does not provide registration confirmation through the Supervisory Helpline or the Electronic Filing Help Desk.

Q : Why are two dates provided on the Web page?

A : The Authorized Signature Date field corresponds to the date provided in Part VII of the RMSB Form, Authorized Signature. If the registrant fails to complete this field, it may be blank on the MSB Registrant Search webpage. The Received Date field corresponds to the date the RMSB Form was received through the BSA e-filing system or the date the paper form was received at the IRS Enterprise Computing Center-Detroit (ECC-D).

Entities must renew their registration every two years, and once a year, FinCEN will remove entities from the MSB Registrant Search webpage that have not renewed their MSB registration by the registration deadline. If an entity continues to engage in activities that require registration with FinCEN but has been removed from the MSB Registrant Search webpage, it should renew its registration immediately. MSBs are strongly encouraged to renew their registration using FinCEN's BSA electronic filing system.

Q : Can I search for all entities located abroad?

A : Yes. In the Foreign Locations search field on the MSB Registrant Search webpage, select "All Foreign" from the drop-down menu. This will generate a list of all entities with foreign addresses.