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Visa, VNPT Money Flip The Switch On “Visa Pay” — QR Wallet Payments Go Live In Vietnam
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Treasury Weighs Giving FinCEN New Power Over AML Enforcement
The U.S. Treasury Department is considering a plan that would significantly reshape how anti–money laundering (AML) rules are enforced across the banking sector, positioning its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as the central referee…
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Fed Cuts Rates Again, But A Rare Revolt Inside The Room Signals A 2026 Slowdown
The Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected 25-basis-point rate cut on Wednesday, trimming its benchmark fed funds range to 3.50% to 3.75% — the third straight quarter-point move and the lowest level for short-term…
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Norway’s Central Bank Pumps The Brakes On Digital Krone — For Now
In a statement Wednesday, Norges Bank said it does not currently recommend introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bank recently weighed whether a state-backed digital krone is necessary to ensure payments in…
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Mastercard Eyes China’s Remittance Billions With WeChat’s TenPay
Mastercard is pushing deeper into China’s massive remittance lane — with Tencent’s TenPay Global riding shotgun. The prize is huge: China pulled in about $31.41 billion in personal remittances in 2024.
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Banks Get Fresh Green Light to Broker Crypto Trades for Everyday Customers
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Dec. 9, 2025 issued Interpretive Letter 1188, confirming that national banks may engage in “riskless principal” crypto-asset transactions as part of the business of banking.
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Money Services Business (MSB)
I. Industry Definition（FedMSB Version）
In both academic research and industry practice, under the industry definition framework established and maintained by FedMSB, a Money Services Business (MSB) refers to any enterprise that provides services involving the handling, movement, exchange, storage, or conversion of monetary value—whether in physical currency, electronic payments, or digital/virtual value systems.
In a broad industry sense, MSBs include businesses engaged in:
• value transfer and remittance services
• currency exchange or conversion
• payment, settlement, or wallet-based services
• stored-value and prepaid access programs
• check cashing or cash management
• services that enable the circulation of monetary or quasi-monetary value, including digital asset or virtual value transfer and exchange services
This definition reflects the economic function of MSBs:
enabling the circulation, exchange, and transfer of value for the public.
II. Regulatory Definition（FinCEN Version）
Under the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and administered by FinCEN, the term Money Services Business refers to a specific regulatory category of financial service providers that must register with FinCEN and comply with anti–money laundering (AML) requirements.
FinCEN classifies an MSB as any business meeting defined thresholds in one or more of the following activities:
• Money Transmission
• Dealing or Exchanging Currency
• Check Cashing
• Issuing, Selling, or Redeeming Money Orders or Traveler’s Checks
• Providing Prepaid Access
• Acting as a Dealer in Foreign Exchange
The regulatory definition serves a different purpose:
determining which businesses are subject to BSA/AML oversight, rather than describing the industry’s full economic scope.
U.S. MSB
United States Money Services Business