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FDIC’s Hill Pledges Lighter Touch, Tougher Culture in Regulatory Shake-Up
Acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill marched up to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and laid out an aggressive overhaul of the nation’s bank watchdog – promising fewer box-checking exams, more focus on real risks, a…
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The FinCEN Sounds Alarm on Cross-Border Cash From Migrants Without Legal Status
The FinCEN is putting money services businesses on notice: individuals without legal status in the United States may be using money transmitters to move illicit proceeds, including profits from unlawful U.S. employment, back across…
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China Ramps Up “War on Crypto”: Beijing Brands All Virtual Currency Activity Illegal Finance
China’s central bank has doubled down on its war against crypto, declaring once again that all virtual currency business is illegal finance and ordering regulators and law-enforcement agencies to intensify the crackdown.The PBOC statement…
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Meet the New Player Trying to Police America’s Stablecoins
The Federal Money Services Business Association (FedMSB) on Monday unveiled the Stablecoin Standards Authority (SSA) — just made a very loud move in the fight to control America’s exploding stablecoin economy.
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Fed’s December Rate Cut in Sight — What MSBs & Payment Firms Should Know
Wall Street increasingly expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in December 2025 as signs of labor-market softening emerge, including rising jobless claims and slowing hiring among young workers. Major banks, including Goldman…
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BIS Taps IMF Digital Cash Heavyweight to Turbocharge CBDC Push
The Bank for International Settlements has appointed IMF digital money chief Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli—an outspoken advocate for regulated, public-backed digital currencies—to lead its Innovation Hub starting in March 2026, signaling a decisive shift toward CBDCs,…
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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