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Failing to find conventional financial services, some money services businesses have asked armored car companies to bank on their behalf without the knowledge of the institutions maintaining the accounts, say consultants.
An individually-owned and operated money services business in Michigan will pay $12,000 and cease operations for failing to properly screen thousands of wire transfers to Yemen, U.S. regulators said Friday.
Financial institutions have quickly adopted a U.S. Treasury Department ruling last month that relieved them from having to report personal data on the drivers of armored cars, say industry representatives.
Arizona has granted the nation's largest money transmitter an additional three months to improve its anti-money laundering compliance program and avoid criminal prosecution.
One of the country's top lobbying groups for money services businesses will ask lawmakers in February to streamline how the companies obtain licenses to operate in the United States.
The terms of a $100 million settlement disclosed Friday by MoneyGram for anti-money laundering lapses will cost the Dallas-based money remitter nearly $200 million once completed, regulatory documents show.
A 2008 investigation of Colombian cash couriers by customs officials and the U.S. Justice Department that made headlines for its ties to European cocaine sales had a lesser known result: Bank Secrecy Act regulations.
An agreement by one the nation's largest money transmitters to better share transactional data with investigators has resulted in greater scrutiny, both for the business and its chief competitor.
Dozens of small banks and credit unions have begun courting money services businesses over the past year, offering financial services to the high-risk clients in exchange for compliance-related fees.
Money services businesses have been slow to respond to an April request by the U.S. Treasury Department to provide more data on their individual agents, say compliance professionals.
The U.S. Treasury Department is in the final stages of levying a $12,000 civil money penalty against a New Jersey-based money remitter for failing to register as a money services business.
A U.S. Treasury Department plan to increase reporting on cross-border transactions would allow federal regulators and investigators to more easily detect unregistered money remitters - if they can sift through the data.
The Internal Revenue Service's anti-money laundering division is in the process of revamping how it examines tens of thousands of money services businesses, according to a former U.S. Treasury Department official.
Money services businesses and sellers of stored value cards will know this summer whether final rules by the U.S. Treasury Department will increase their anti-money laundering compliance duties and costs.
A report by an intergovernmental watchdog highlighting the anti-money laundering weaknesses of more than two dozen countries is prompting non-bank financial institutions to drop customers and avoid risky markets.
The Internal Revenue Service is ill-equipped to examine money services businesses for federal compliance, industry leaders and lawmakers told a congressional subcommittee Wednesday.
Federal regulators should take a greater role in overseeing anti-money laundering compliance among money remittance companies, industry representatives told a congressional panel investigating pricing transparency in the industry.
Several money services businesses have closed since regulators designated them as high-risk for money laundering.
U.S. regulators haven't done enough to help money services businesses repair their relationship with banks, say MSB trade groups, which blame the regulators for much of the damage.
Banks often have misconceptions about their Bank Secrecy Act-related duties when opening accounts for money services businesses, consultants and bankers say.
