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. 
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(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-
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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. 
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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 shall have no obligation, 
beyond the obligation of the institution to com-
ply with the requirements of this chapter, to 
conduct any review of the compliance by a 
money transmitting business (as defined in sec-
tion 5330(d)(1)) for which the depository insti-
tution maintains an account, or any agent of 
such business, with the requirements of this 
section if the institution 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-
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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-
age an account for a money transmitting busi-
ness or an agent of any such business. 
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‘‘(D) RELIANCE
FOR
INSURED
DEPOSI-
TORY INSTITUTIONS.— A federally insured de-
pository institution shall have no increased li-
ability under this chapter for the failure of any 
money transmitting business or an agent of any 
such business to comply with any provision of 
this section and regulations prescribed under 
any such provision to the extent that the insti-
tution has itself complied with the requirements 
of this chapter and such regulations. 
‘‘(E) FEDERALLY
INSURED
DEPOSITORY 
INSTITUTION
DEFINED.—The term ‘federally 
insured depository institution’ means any in-
sured depository institution (as defined in sec-
tion 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) 
and any insured credit union (as defined in sec-
tion 101(7) of the Federal Credit Union Act). 
‘‘(5) PARAGRAPH (4) CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(A) MONEY TRANSMITTING BUSINESS.— 
A certification by a money transmitting busi-
ness meets the requirement of paragraph (4) if 
the money transmitting business certifies as fol-
lows, to the satisfaction of the Secretary: 
‘‘(i) The business is in compliance 
with paragraph (1) and regulations pre-
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business, including termination or 
suspension, or the institution of any 
criminal or administrative proceeding 
commenced against the agent. 
‘‘(iv) The agent is licensed or reg-
istered as a money transmitting business, 
or as an agent of such business, by any 
State— 
‘‘(I) within which the agent oper-
ates as an agent of a money transmit-
ting business; and 
‘‘(II) which requires any such li-
censing or registration. 
‘‘(v) The agent is not required to be 
registered with the Secretary as a money 
transmitting business pursuant to regula-
tions prescribed by the Secretary under 
section 5330(c)(2).’’. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall prescribe such regulations as the Secretary deter-
mines to be appropriate to implement the amendments 
made by subsection (a), in final form, before the end of 
the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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