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Do agents of an MSB have to register with FinCEN?

Checked against the cited sources: October 2026

Not if the business is a money services business (MSB) only because it acts as an agent of another MSB: then it does not have to register with FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Treasury bureau that administers the Bank Secrecy Act). But an MSB that offers MSB services both on its own behalf and as an agent for others must register. Sellers of prepaid access, such as prepaid cards or codes, are excepted to the extent they are not already agents, and FinCEN's instructions say most sellers qualify for the agent exemption. A seller that also offers other MSB services on its own behalf, such as cashing checks above $1,000 for any person on any day, must register (31 CFR 1022.380(a)(3)). Neither the rule's text nor FinCEN's instructions settle an agent whose only own-behalf service is selling prepaid access; see below, and confirm it on your facts. Either way, an agent that is an MSB has its own anti-money laundering (AML) duties. The MSB it acts for, the principal, must keep a detailed list of its agents, update it every January 1, and monitor what its agents do.

Who counts as an agent

Whether a business is an agent "depends on all the facts and circumstances" (31 CFR 1022.380(a)(4)).

FinCEN's instructions for its MSB registration form describe an agent as a separate business that the principal authorizes, "through written agreement or otherwise," to sell its products or its money transmission services. Someone who is only an employee is not an agent, and neither is a branch. The model state law discussed below calls a money transmitter's agents "authorized delegates."

Two roles are easy to confuse with this one:

  • Acting for a bank. A bank is not an MSB (31 CFR 1010.100(ff)(8)(i)). So acting for a sponsor or partner bank does not fit the agent exception. Whether you must register then turns on your own activities.
  • Collecting payments for a merchant, biller or landlord. This is often called agent of the payee, a different question. The model state law exempts an agent of a payee from licensing on set conditions; check each state's own law.

Do agents register?

The rule is 31 CFR 1022.380(a)(3). A business that is an MSB "solely because that person serves as an agent of another money services business" does not register. An MSB that does MSB business "both on its own behalf and as an agent for others" must register.

FinCEN's example is a supermarket. If it sells money orders as an agent for an issuer and does nothing else that makes it an MSB, it need not register. The answer is the same if it is also an agent for a money transmitter. But it must register if it also cashes checks or exchanges currency on its own account above $1,000 for any person on any day, in one or more transactions.

A seller of prepaid access is excepted from registration "to the extent that they are not already agents" (31 CFR 1022.380(a)(1)). A seller that is an MSB solely as another MSB's agent is exempt as an agent (76 FR 45403, 45414 n.40).

FinCEN's form instructions say such a seller "is typically an agent of another MSB and has no requirement to register."

The text does not settle an agent whose only own-behalf MSB service is selling prepaid access. Read alone, the both-capacities rule above would require registration, and the seller exception does not by its words reach a seller already an agent. FinCEN's instructions point the other way, and no FinCEN source cited here addresses the combination. Confirm it on your facts.

The principal files one registration, however many agents it has, and reports their number on the form.

Agents that are MSBs still have duties

Whether an agent is itself an MSB turns on what it does. Selling money orders, for example, counts only above $1,000 to any person on any day, but money transmission has no dollar threshold (31 CFR 1010.100(ff)(3), (ff)(5)). FinCEN's 2016 agent guidance (FIN-2016-G001) says the law "requires all MSBs, both principals and their agents, to establish and maintain an effective written AML program." The program rule applies to each MSB (31 CFR 1022.210(a)).

An agent-only MSB and its principal may agree to split who develops the AML policies, procedures and internal controls. But each MSB "shall remain solely responsible" for carrying out its own program (31 CFR 1022.210(d)(1)(iii)). FinCEN's guidance adds that neither side can avoid liability by pointing to a contract giving the job to the other.

Suspicious activity reporting works the same way. Where the MSB suspicious activity report (SAR) rule applies, the duty to spot and report a suspicious transaction "rests with each money services business involved in the transaction." Only one report is needed if it contains all relevant facts (31 CFR 1022.320(a)(4)). The MSB SAR rule does not list check cashers.

What the principal must keep: the agent list

The statute requires a list of agents, available to law enforcement on request (31 U.S.C. 5330(c)). The rule fills in the details (31 CFR 1022.380(d)):

  • When. Prepare the first list by the due date of your first registration. Revise it each January 1 to cover the previous 12 months.
  • Where. Do not file the list with Form 107. Keep it at the U.S. location reported on the form.
  • Who can see it. On request, you must make it available to FinCEN and other appropriate law enforcement agencies, including IRS examiners. Requests are coordinated through FinCEN.
  • How long. Keep the original list and every revised list for five years (31 CFR 1010.430(d)).

For each agent, the list must generally show:

  1. its name, including trade names and doing-business-as names;
  2. its address, including street, city, state and ZIP code;
  3. its telephone number;
  4. the services it provides (money orders, traveler's checks, check sales, check cashing, currency exchange, money transmitting);
  5. the months in the last 12 in which its gross transactions in your products or services exceeded $100,000, not counting fees and commissions;
  6. the name and address of any depository institution where it keeps a transaction account for the funds it receives for your products or services, whether in its name or yours;
  7. the year it first became your agent; and
  8. the number of its branches or subagents.

The volume information in item 5 must be current within 45 days of the due date of the agent list (31 CFR 1022.380(d)(2)(ii)).

What the principal must do: monitor its agents

FinCEN's 2016 guidance says a principal's AML program must include risk-based monitoring of its agents. At a minimum, the principal must:

  • identify the owners of its agents;
  • evaluate each agent's operations on an ongoing basis, and watch for changes; and
  • evaluate each agent's implementation of policies, procedures and controls.

Risk factors include owners' links to crime or terrorism, whether the agent has and follows an AML program, the markets it serves, the services and activity expected of it, and the nature and length of the relationship. The principal should have procedures for agents that do not comply, up to ending the contract. FinCEN expects a principal to have information "readily available" to show examiners how it monitors its agents. The guidance covers sub-agents and authorized delegates too.

For agents outside the United States, FinCEN's Interpretive Release 2004-1 calls for risk-based due diligence that identifies the owners, monitoring of transactions into, out of or through the United States, and corrective action or termination where needed. It does not require monitoring of activity entirely outside the United States.

Adding agents can trigger re-registration

If your number of agents grows by more than 50 percent during a registration period, you must re-register not later than 180 days after the increase (31 CFR 1022.380(b)(4)).

State law adds its own rules

States regulate money transmitters, and how they use agents, under their own laws. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors' model law, the Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA), is one example. Before a licensee works through an authorized delegate, the model requires written policies, a signed written contract, and a risk-based background check of the delegate (MTMA § 8.01(b), (d)). It also says: "An authorized delegate may not use a subdelegate to conduct money transmission on behalf of a licensee" (MTMA § 8.01(g)). A model law applies only in a state that enacts it, and states can change it, so check each state where your agents operate.

Next steps

  • Check whether your business, or your partner, is an MSB with the free MSB check.
  • Building an agent network, or acting as someone's agent? Discuss with Forteris.

Sources

  1. 31 CFR 1022.380, Registration of money services businesses: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/section-1022.380
  2. 31 CFR 1022.210, AML programs for MSBs: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/section-1022.210
  3. 31 CFR 1022.320, SARs by MSBs: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/section-1022.320
  4. 31 CFR 1010.100(e), (ff) and (ww), Bank Secrecy Act; MSB definition and limitations; prepaid access: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/section-1010.100
  5. 31 CFR 1010.430(d), five-year retention: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/section-1010.430
  6. 31 U.S.C. 5330(c), agent lists: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5330
  7. FinCEN, Registration of Money Services Business (RMSB) Electronic Filing Instructions (July 2014): https://www.fincen.gov/system/files/shared/FinCENRMSB_ElectronicFilingInstructions.pdf
  8. FinCEN, Money Services Business (MSB) Registration: https://www.fincen.gov/resources/money-services-business-msb-registration
  9. FinCEN, FIN-2016-G001, Guidance on Existing AML Program Rule Compliance Obligations for MSB Principals with Respect to Agent Monitoring (Mar. 11, 2016): https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/guidance/guidance-existing-aml-program-rule-compliance-obligations
  10. FinCEN, Interpretive Release 2004-1, 69 FR 74439 (Dec. 14, 2004): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2004-12-14/html/04-27287.htm
  11. FinCEN, Final Rule, Definitions and Other Regulations Relating to Prepaid Access, 76 FR 45403 (July 29, 2011): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/07/29/2011-19116/bank-secrecy-act-regulations-definitions-and-other-regulations-relating-to-prepaid-access
  12. Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Money Transmission Modernization Act (model law, August 2023 text): https://www.csbs.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/CSBS%20Money%20Transmission%20Modernization%20Act.pdf
  13. 31 U.S.C. 310, FinCEN: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/310
  14. 31 CFR 1010.810, enforcement and examination authority: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/section-1010.810

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Forteris is not a law firm.

Last checked: October 2026

Short answers

Does an agent of a money transmitter have to register with FinCEN?

Not if it is a money services business (MSB) only because it acts as an agent of another MSB (31 CFR 1022.380(a)(3)). An MSB that offers MSB services both on its own behalf and as an agent for others must register with FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Treasury bureau that administers the Bank Secrecy Act) (31 CFR 1022.380(a)(3)). Sellers of prepaid access are excepted from registration "to the extent that they are not already agents" (31 CFR 1022.380(a)(1)), and FinCEN's form instructions say a seller of prepaid access is typically an agent of another MSB with no requirement to register, and that most sellers of prepaid access qualify for the agent exemption. The rule's wording does not settle one case: a business that is already another MSB's agent and also sells prepaid access, such as prepaid cards or codes, for itself. The seller exception by its words does not reach a seller that is already an agent, and the rule does not say whether that business's own prepaid sales are own-behalf activity that would require it to register under 31 CFR 1022.380(a)(3), so confirm it on the facts. Whether a business is an agent depends on all the facts and circumstances (31 CFR 1022.380(a)(4)). An agent that is itself an MSB needs its own written anti-money laundering (AML) program even if it does not register (31 CFR 1022.210(a), (c); FIN-2016-G001); an agent-only MSB and its principal may agree who develops the policies, procedures and internal controls, but each remains solely responsible for carrying out its own program (31 CFR 1022.210(d)(1)(iii)). Whether an agent is itself an MSB turns on what it does: selling money orders, for example, counts only above $1,000 to any person on any day, while money transmission has no dollar threshold (31 CFR 1010.100(ff)(3), (ff)(5)).

What must an MSB's agent list include, and where is it kept?

For each agent, the list must show its name, including trade and doing-business-as names; its address; its telephone number; the services it provides; the months in the 12 months before the list in which its gross transactions in the MSB's products or services, excluding fees and commissions, exceeded $100,000; any depository institution where it keeps a transaction account for those funds, whether in its own or the MSB's name; the year it became an agent; and its number of branches or subagents (31 CFR 1022.380(d)(2)(i)). Agent volume information must be current within 45 days of the list's due date, and the last two items need not be listed for agents appointed before March 1, 2000 if that information is made available on request (31 CFR 1022.380(d)(2)(ii)). A new MSB prepares its first list by the due date of its first registration form and revises it each January 1 for the preceding 12 months. The list is not filed with Form 107, the MSB registration form of FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Treasury bureau that administers the Bank Secrecy Act), and is kept at the U.S. location reported on the registration. The MSB must make it available to FinCEN and other appropriate law enforcement agencies on request, and keep the original and every revised list for five years (31 CFR 1022.380(d)(1); 31 CFR 1010.430(d)).

Does an MSB have to monitor its agents?

Yes, an MSB principal must monitor its agents. Guidance issued in 2016 by FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Treasury bureau that administers the Bank Secrecy Act) reiterates principals' existing anti-money laundering (AML) program obligations under 31 CFR 1022.210: principals must develop and implement risk-based policies, procedures and internal controls that ensure adequate ongoing monitoring of agent activity. At a minimum, a principal must identify the owners of its agents, evaluate the agents' operations on an ongoing basis and monitor for variations, and evaluate the agents' implementation of policies, procedures and controls. Neither the principal nor the agent can avoid liability by pointing to a contract that assigns the AML program to the other. FinCEN expects a principal to have information readily available to demonstrate that it has effectively developed and implemented risk-based agent-monitoring policies, procedures and internal controls.

General information, not legal advice. Checked against the cited primary sources in October 2026.