Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Money Service Busi-
ness Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Check cashers, money transmitters, and 
other legally authorized and regulated money trans-
mitting businesses (also designated as money serv-
ices businesses) provide a wide range of necessary fi-
nancial services and products to customers from all 
walks of life, including the under-banked and urban 
communities. 
(2) Those services include domestic and inter-
national funds transfers, check cashing, money order 
and traveler’s check sales, and electronic bill pay-
ments. 
(3) Regulatory guidance issued by, and expecta-
tions of, the Federal banking agencies and the Sec-
retary of the Treasury urge insured depository insti-
tutions to conduct reviews of money services busi-
nesses’ anti-money laundering compliance programs, 
placing such depository institutions in the position of 
quasi-regulators.
(4) Consequently, many insured depository in-
stitutions have refused or closed money services 
businesses’ accounts in order either not to incur the 
burden, risk or potential liability for undertaking a 
de facto regulatory function, or else to avoid super-
visory sanctions for not exercising such oversight. 
(5) This trend endangers the existence of legiti-
mate, regulated money services businesses industry 
and the ability of such businesses to deliver financial 
services and products. 
(6) Loss of depository institution accounts by 
money services businesses threatens to drive the cus-
tomer transactions of such businesses underground 
through unregulated channels, including bulk cash 
smuggling or other means. 
(7) It is critical to the interests of national se-
curity that transparency of money services business 
transactions be maintained by ensuring such busi-
nesses have a reasonable process to demonstrate to 
insured depository institutions the compliance by 
such businesses with anti-money laundering and 
counter-terrorism financing obligations. 
(8) Money services businesses are subject to 
Federal money laundering and terrorist financing 
control programs and reporting requirements as en-
forced by State and Federal regulators, including 
the Secretary of the Treasury, which are authorized 
to conduct compliance oversight and to impose sanc-
tions through licensing, registration or other powers. 
(9) These State and Federal regulators have 
committed to coordinate their supervision and en-
forcement of such money services businesses obliga-
tions. 
(10) Insured depository institutions and Fed-
eral banking regulators should be able to rely on a 
regulatory process for conducting oversight of money 
services businesses’ compliance with subchapter II of 
chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, as well 
as on a process of self-certification by legitimate 
money services businesses that attest to such compli-
ance. 
(11) Accordingly, to eliminate regulatory bur-
den imposed on insured depository institutions and 
promote access by money services businesses to the 
banking system and to give full recognition to Fed-
eral and State agency authority to supervise and en-
force money services businesses’ compliance with 
anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financ-
ing obligations and their implementing regulations, 
it is appropriate and necessary to provide for the
self-certification process established pursuant to this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. SELF-CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR MONEY SERV-
ICES BUSINESSES ESTABLISHED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5318(h) of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(4) MONEY
TRANSMITTING
BUSINESS
AC-
COUNTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A federally insured 
depository institution that maintains an account 
for a money transmitting business (as defined 
in section 5330(d)(1)) shall have no obligation 
to review the compliance of that business, or 
any agent thereof, with that business’s or 
agent’s obligations under this section, if the in-
stitution has on file— 
‘‘(i) a certification submitted by the 
money transmitting business that meets 
the requirements of paragraph (5)(A); or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an agent of a 
money transmitting business— 
‘‘(I) the certification required 
under paragraph (5)(B); and
‘‘(II) a certification from the 
business that the named agent is au-
thorized to act as the principal’s 
agent. 
‘‘(B) PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(i) CIVIL
PENALTIES.—A money 
transmitting business or an agent of any 
such business making a material misrepre-
sentation in a certification referred to in 
subparagraph (A) shall be subject to the 
civil penalties prescribed under section 
5321 without regard to whether such viola-
tion was willful. 
‘‘(ii) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— A per-
son who knowingly makes a material mis-
representation in a certification referred to 
in subparagraph (A) shall be subject to 
penalties prescribed under section 5322 
without regard to whether such violation 
was willful. 
‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provi-
sion of this paragraph shall be construed as re-
quiring any federally insured depository institu-
tion to establish, maintain, administer or man-