With a few exceptions, each money services business must register with the Department of Treasury. This registration must be renewed every two years. Civil and criminal penalties may be imposed for violation of the registration requirement.
License requirements for money service businesses are different in each state. Commonly regulated services include check cashers, money transfers, credit unions, currency exchanges, commercial banks, and small loans. Applicants must often provide the state with businesses financial statement, corporate documents, and bonds. The state may also require biographical statements, fingerprints, and criminal history reports from each owner of the business. Each business location must be licensed and all types of money service licenses are renewable.
Businesses functioning without the proper license are generally penalized based on the size of the operation and the gravity of the offense.
Money transmitter services have become essential in today’s environment. Operating a money transmitter business requires compliance with federal and state regulations.
CT Corporation’s dedicated business license experts analyzed licensing requirements for 50 U.S. states and the federal government in a comprehensive report.
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Does Digital Currency Transmission Require a Money Transmitter License?
In response to emerging digital currencies such as Bitcoin, states have started to consider changes in state statutory language impacting cryptocurrency or digital currency transmission and its placement within “stored value” or “money transmission” statutory definitions. Many states are moving towards the inclusion of this form of currency within money transmission license requirements. CT Corporation tracks licensing changes within the money services industry. We assist our money transmitter clients with license compliance by providing customized research to identify whether their transactional activities fall under the parameters of state level money transmission licensing regimes.
Please contact CT Corporation to see how we can assist with your money services business licensing needs.