Newsroom

October 17, 2014

Treasury looks to improve guidance on MSBs

Treasury is looking to improve access to financial institution services for money transmitters, according to a recent blog post by Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser.

Money transmitters, one type of money services business, are used by people to pay bills, cash checks and safely send funds to one another, Glaser explained. He also wrote that "one-quarter of U.S. households use non-bank financial institutions, including money transmitters."

Glaser noted that as Treasury moves forward on safeguarding money transmitters it hopes to:

  • improve the clarity of expectations for banks (financial institutions);
  • strengthen money transmitter anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing obligations;
  • further enhance money transmitter AML/CFT oversight; and
  • continue ongoing outreach to financial institutions and those they serve.

"Treasury is working with the federal banking agencies to update guidance to make clear that banks should not be treating all money transmitters as high-risk and that with sufficient controls, banks can effectively manage high-risk money transmitters," Glaser wrote.

He also noted that Treasury is working with the Financial Action Task Force "to provide guidance to governments on effective supervision over financial institutions regarding these issues and to financial institutions on effectively identifying and managing the risks associated with MSB accounts."