Professional support to assess your registration requirements, prepare your filing, and understand what comes next.
Launching a money transfer business, expanding a payments operation into the United States, or reviewing the requirements for an existing business? FinCEN registration may be one of the federal obligations you need to address.
Faisal Khan LLC offers FinCEN registration services for U.S.-located money services businesses and foreign-located businesses conducting covered MSB activities in the United States. We help you organize the required information and navigate the registration process with a clear understanding of its scope.
| Registration service | Professional service fee |
|---|---|
| Standard FinCEN registration — U.S.-located MSB | US$5,000 |
| FMSB FinCEN registration — foreign-located MSB | US$7,500 |
FinCEN does not charge a government filing fee for MSB registration. The prices above are our professional service fees. Company formation, registered-agent services, and other additional work are quoted separately.
Registration is not a license. FinCEN MSB registration does not give you a federal operating license, a state money transmitter license, or permission to provide money transmission services throughout the United States. State licensing and other applicable requirements must be addressed separately.
What Is FinCEN Registration?
FinCEN is the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It administers the Bank Secrecy Act framework to combat money laundering and other financial crime.
For a money services business, FinCEN registration means filing the required information about the business using FinCEN Form 107, Registration of Money Services Business, through the BSA E-Filing System. It identifies the business and its reported MSB activities to FinCEN.
Registration is one component of your regulatory obligations. It does not certify that your business model, compliance program, or operations have been approved.
This service concerns MSB registration. It is separate from company incorporation and any applicable beneficial ownership reporting requirements.
Why Is FinCEN Registration Necessary?
If your business meets the applicable MSB definition and no registration exception applies, registration is a legal requirement. The obligation depends on what your business actually does—not simply whether you describe it as a fintech, payment platform, exchange, or technology company.
FinCEN's framework also reaches foreign-located businesses conducting covered activities in the United States, even without a U.S. office.
Registration helps authorities identify businesses within this regulatory framework. Failure to register when required, or filing materially false or incomplete information, can expose a business and responsible persons to enforcement.
For your business, the practical objective is to establish whether registration is required, file accurately, and address the additional obligations attached to your activities.
What Would Prompt You to Review Your Registration Requirements?
Review your position before launching or materially changing services involving customer money or value. These situations warrant attention:
| Your situation | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| You plan to receive money from one person and transmit it to another person or location | The activity may meet the federal definition of money transmission. |
| You are launching remittances or cross-border payment services | Your role in accepting, controlling, and transmitting funds needs assessment. |
| You provide foreign exchange, check cashing, or money order services | These activities can fall within MSB categories, subject to relevant definitions and thresholds. |
| Your foreign business is entering the U.S. market | Covered U.S. activities can create obligations even without physical premises in the country. |
| You provide prepaid access | Your role as a provider or seller, and the program structure, affect the requirements. |
| You change from providing software to handling customer funds | Your regulatory position may change along with your operational role. |
| A bank or prospective partner asks for your FinCEN registration | Assess whether registration is actually required and whether the request matches your business model. |
The federal categories and exclusions are defined in the regulations; a commercial label alone does not determine the result.
A bank's request is a reason to review your position—not proof that your business is an MSB. Start with your activities and flow of funds.
Does Every Payments Business Need to Register?
No. A business that is an MSB solely because it acts as an agent of another MSB generally does not have to register separately. If it also conducts MSB activities on its own behalf, the answer can change. Branches generally do not file separate registrations.
Other exclusions and activity-specific rules may apply. For example, prepaid access providers and sellers are treated differently for registration purposes. Registration exceptions also do not automatically remove other compliance obligations.
Not sure where your business fits? book a licensing consultation.
Standard MSB vs. Foreign MSB FinCEN Registration
We offer two registration services, depending on the business's location and operating structure.
Standard FinCEN Registration — US$5,000
For a U.S.-located money services business that needs to register with FinCEN.
This service focuses on the domestic business's entity information, activities, ownership or control details, and registration filing requirements.
Foreign ownership does not, by itself, make a business a foreign-located MSB. We consider where the business is located and how it operates when determining the appropriate service.
FMSB FinCEN Registration — US$7,500
For a foreign-located money services business conducting covered MSB activities in the United States.
On this page, “FMSB” means foreign money services business; FinCEN generally uses the term foreign-located MSB. This is the U.S. registration framework, not Canada's FINTRAC foreign MSB registration.
The foreign-located route is not a separate federal license or a route around state licensing. It applies FinCEN's requirements to the relevant U.S. activities of a business operating from abroad.
The full process is set out step by step in our foreign MSB registration guide, including the authorized U.S. agent requirement.
Compare the Two Services
| Feature | Standard FinCEN registration | FMSB FinCEN registration |
|---|---|---|
| Professional service fee | US$5,000 | US$7,500 |
| Intended business | U.S.-located MSB | Foreign-located MSB conducting covered U.S. activities |
| Regulatory framework | U.S. FinCEN MSB registration | U.S. FinCEN MSB registration |
| Form | FinCEN Form 107 | FinCEN Form 107 |
| Primary review focus | Domestic entity and activities | Foreign entity, U.S. activities, and additional foreign-located filing requirements |
| U.S. agent for BSA service of legal process | No additional appointment solely under the foreign-located MSB rule | Required |
| U.S. location for registration records | Required | Required |
| State money transmitter licensing | Separate assessment required | Separate assessment required |
| Federal operating license provided | No | No |
| Company formation included | No; separately quoted | No; separately quoted |
| Agent appointment or ongoing agent fees included | No; separately quoted if needed | No; separately quoted if needed |
The foreign-located registration rules require an agreed U.S.-resident agent for service of legal process and identification of a U.S. records location.
FinCEN Registration vs. a Money Transmitter License
Federal registration and state licensing answer different questions. FinCEN registration records your business within the federal MSB framework. A state money transmitter license concerns authorization under that state's law.
| Question | FinCEN MSB registration | State money transmitter license |
|---|---|---|
| Who administers it? | FinCEN, at the federal level | The relevant state regulator |
| Is it a license to transmit money? | No | It can authorize specified activity under the issuing state's law and license conditions |
| Does it provide nationwide authorization? | No | An individual state's license does not, by itself, authorize operations nationwide |
| Does it replace the other requirement? | No | No |
| Does listing a state on Form 107 establish permission to operate there? | No | Authorization must be determined separately |
| Does it guarantee a bank account? | No | No |
A business can appear on FinCEN's register without holding the state licenses its activities require. Do not treat a registration number as evidence of state authorization.
FinCEN's public listing is also not a government recommendation, certification of legitimacy, or endorsement.
How Our FinCEN Registration Service Works
1. Tell Us About Your Business
Share where your business is established and operates, the services you intend to offer, your customers and markets, and a brief flow of funds showing which entity receives and transmits money.
2. Confirm the Appropriate Scope
We review the information to determine the appropriate registration service and identify issues that require additional assessment. Where a formal legal opinion is needed, that work is separately scoped.
3. Prepare Your Registration Information
We help organize the relevant entity, activity, ownership or control, and supporting-record information for the filing. Foreign-located cases also require coordination of the U.S. service-of-process and records arrangements.
4. Coordinate Review and Filing
We assist with preparing and coordinating the electronic registration filing, including review by the appropriate authorized signatory. The business remains responsible for the accuracy of its information and its regulatory obligations.
5. Provide the Filing Handoff
We provide the available filing records and explain the registration maintenance points you should track. The written engagement will identify the exact deliverables and any additional work requested.
Our service is registration support. A full AML program, state licensing applications, legal opinions, banking arrangements, and ongoing compliance management are not included unless expressly added to your engagement.
What Information Should You Prepare?
To start the assessment, please have the following available:
| Information | What to provide |
|---|---|
| Business identity | Legal name, formation jurisdiction, company documents, and trade names |
| Business location | Principal business address and actual operating locations |
| Ownership and control | Ownership structure and relevant controlling-person information |
| Business activities | A plain-English explanation of the services you provide or intend to provide |
| Flow of funds | Who pays, who receives funds, who controls them, and how settlement occurs |
| Markets | U.S. states and countries you intend to serve |
| Operating status | Whether you are prelaunch or already operating, with relevant dates |
| Existing registrations and licenses | Details of any current authorizations or registrations |
| Foreign-located arrangements | Existing U.S. agent and records-location arrangements, if any |
We will provide the detailed information request appropriate to your case. Please do not send identity documents or sensitive customer information through the initial quote form.
Company Formation and Registered-Agent Support
Need a company established before proceeding? We can also help arrange company formation and registered-agent services, with pricing based on the jurisdiction, entity structure, and services required.
These services are additional to the registration fees shown above.
A Company Registered Agent Is Not Automatically Your FinCEN Agent
A corporate registered agent receives notices and legal documents for an entity under the relevant company-law arrangements.
For a foreign-located MSB, FinCEN requires designation of a person residing in the United States who is authorized and has agreed to accept service of legal process concerning BSA compliance. A standard company registered-agent package should not be assumed to satisfy this requirement; the scope and appointment must be checked.
| Additional service | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Company formation assistance | Quoted according to jurisdiction and structure |
| Corporate registered-agent arrangement | Quoted according to provider and service scope |
| Foreign MSB U.S. service-of-process agent arrangement | Separately quoted, including applicable ongoing fees |
| Additional registration-related work outside the agreed scope | Separately quoted |
Timing, Renewals, and Ongoing Obligations
The initial registration deadline is generally within 180 days after establishment as an MSB. Registration follows a two-calendar-year cycle, and renewals must be filed by the applicable December 31 deadline. Certain changes can also require re-registration. Registration records must generally be retained in the United States for five years.
The filing deadline is not permission to operate without required licenses or compliance controls.
MSBs also have ongoing obligations that vary with their activities. These can include a written AML program, a designated compliance person, training, independent review, applicable transaction reporting, and recordkeeping. Filing Form 107 does not complete those tasks.
We provide an expected service timeline after reviewing your case and the completeness of your documents. We do not promise a fixed date for FinCEN processing or public listing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does FinCEN registration cost?
Our professional fee is US$5,000 for standard registration and US$7,500 for foreign MSB registration. FinCEN itself does not charge an MSB registration filing fee. Additional company formation, agent services, and work outside the agreed registration scope are separately priced.
Can I register directly with FinCEN?
Yes. You can file directly through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. Our fee is for professional assistance with the assessment, preparation, coordination, and filing handoff described above.
Is FinCEN registration a federal license?
No. It is an MSB registration. You should not describe it as a federal money transmission license or government approval of your business.
Can I operate in every U.S. state after registering?
No. Registration does not supply state money transmitter licenses. Your activities, customer locations, exemptions, and any properly structured agency arrangements need separate assessment.
Can a foreign company register without a U.S. office?
Yes, the foreign-located MSB framework can apply without a U.S. office. Covered U.S. activities, the required U.S. agent, and records arrangements must be assessed.
See what the foreign-located route involves for the twelve-step process and the documents required.
Does foreign ownership make my U.S. business an FMSB?
Not automatically. Foreign ownership and foreign location are different facts. We review the actual business location and operating structure before determining the appropriate registration route.
Do I need a U.S. company for foreign MSB registration?
A new U.S. company is not inherently required to use the foreign-located MSB framework. Whether a U.S. entity is appropriate for your wider licensing, banking, or commercial plans is a separate question.
Is there a minimum volume before money transmitter registration applies?
There is no general minimum transaction threshold for the federal money transmitter definition. Certain other MSB categories have thresholds and specific rules; do not apply those thresholds to money transmission.
Do agents of another MSB need their own registration?
A business that is an MSB solely because it serves as another MSB's agent generally does not register separately. Conducting additional MSB activities on its own behalf can change that result.
Does registration guarantee banking or payment processing?
No. Banks and payment partners make their own onboarding decisions. A registration number does not guarantee acceptance, an account, or access to payment infrastructure.
Is an AML compliance program included in the price?
A full AML program is not included in the registration-only service unless expressly included in a separate written scope. Registration does not replace your ongoing compliance obligations.
Does the registration expire or need renewal?
Registration must be renewed on the applicable two-year cycle. Ownership, control, or agent-network changes may also require action between renewals. Ongoing renewal services are separately scoped.
Why is the FMSB service more expensive?
The foreign-located service includes additional coordination around the foreign entity's U.S. activities, service-of-process designation, and U.S. registration-record arrangements. The US$7,500 is our service fee; ongoing third-party agent charges are additional.
Can you help form my company and arrange an agent?
Yes. We can help arrange company formation and appropriate agent services. We quote those separately based on your jurisdiction, structure, and the agent responsibilities required.
Request a Quote
Get the right FinCEN registration support for your business.
Tell us what your company does, where it operates, and whether you need company formation or agent assistance. We will review your requirements and provide a written quote identifying the registration service and any additional work.
- Standard FinCEN registration: US$5,000
- Foreign MSB FinCEN registration: US$7,500
- Company formation and agent services: separately quoted
This page provides general information and describes our professional registration support. Your obligations depend on your activities and circumstances. FinCEN registration does not constitute a license, government endorsement, or confirmation that all requirements have been met.