Does Your Money Services Business MSB Do Any Non-MSB Activities? May Make Getting A Bank Account Easier

There are all types of money services businesses. A MSB could be anything from a currency exchange, a check casher, a seller of prepaid cards, a foreign currency dealer, or any number of other businesses.

Oftentimes MSB's may be businesses you wouldn't even think of or consider an MSB. Something like a grocery store for example. Many small grocery stores and liquor stores offer a check cashing service.

Now that is hardly the bulk of their business, their primary business activity is a retail activity of selling groceries. The fact that they cash checks however makes them a MSB or a money services business.

Did You Know Many Grocery Store Are Money Services Business

A business like the one described above is going to have a much easier time getting a business banking relationship than say a full scale currency exchange. Why is this? First off, a lot of grocery stores probably won't even tell their bank they are check cashiers and will just fly under the radar. Thta said even if they did tell the bank they cashed checks and were registered as a money services business they would still have a much easier time getting a banking relationship than a full scale currency exchange. Why is this?

Basically because their business is diversified. Banks realize that a grocery store cashing checks is probably doing 95% of their business selling groceries and the remainder cashing checks. Sure they make some money but it's a very small part of their business. This would be the same for a corner store that offered Western Union or MoneyGram.

What does this teach us? Well nothing is gurnateed but potentially by diversifying your business activities banks will not view you solely as an MSB or will not view you as being as high a risk. Does this mean you should run out and open a grocery store just because your a check casher? Well no not necessarily, however if you can diversify your business activity so you can tell a bank only 60% of your business activity is MSB activity you may have an easier time opening a bank account. This could mean getting into selling coins or bullion or other similar items which is not a regulated MSB activity. You can then tell banks that a percentage of your business deals in non-MSB activities.