Money Services are non-bank financial services that move, exchange or convert value for customers: money transmission and remittance, currency exchange, cheque cashing, and issuing, selling or redeeming money orders, traveller's cheques and stored value. The term comes mainly from US and Canadian law, where a firm offering them is a money services business and must register with the national financial intelligence unit before operating. In the US, most categories apply only above $1,000 per person per day, while money transmission has no threshold; Canada's list adds virtual currency dealing and crowdfunding platforms. Registration is an AML obligation, not permission to operate, so US firms also need state licences, each with its own change-of-control filing.
Which activities count as money services in the US
FinCEN's definition lists currency dealers or exchangers, check cashers, issuers of traveler's checks, money orders or stored value, sellers or redeemers of those instruments, and money transmitters. The first four categories only apply if the firm handles more than $1,000 for any person on any day, in one or more transactions; money transmission has no threshold, so a firm that moves even small sums for others as a business is covered.
Illustrative example: a convenience store that cashes three $400 payroll checks for the same customer on one day has handled $1,200 for that person and crosses the check casher threshold. A store that cashes one $400 check per customer per day does not.
Which activities count in Canada
FINTRAC's list is broader: foreign exchange dealing, remitting or transmitting funds (including informal systems such as hawala), issuing or redeeming money orders and similar instruments, dealing in virtual currency, providing crowdfunding platform services, armoured car services, cheque cashing, and acquiring services for private ATMs. A business with no place of business in Canada that directs these services at Canadian clients, for example through Canadian marketing or a .ca domain, is a foreign money services business and must register too. FINTRAC charges no registration fee.
How money services are licensed
Federal registration is an AML obligation, not permission to operate. In the US, money transmission also requires a money transmitter licence from state regulators. As of September 2026, 31 states have adopted the CSBS Money Transmission Modernization Act in full or in part, standardising net worth, surety bond and permissible investment rules. Some states license currency exchange and check cashing separately. Outside North America, the same activities generally fall under payment institution or e-money licences in the EU and UK, and under remittance or money-changer licences in much of Asia and the Middle East.
What money services businesses must do
Registered firms run an AML programme with a designated compliance officer, identify customers above set thresholds, keep records, and report suspicious transactions and large cash transactions. Agents bring their own obligations: in the US, an MSB must maintain a list of the agents authorised to sell its services, and in Canada an MSB that uses agents must verify their identity.
What it means for buyers
Buying a money services business in North America means buying a stack of federal registrations and state licences, each with its own change-of-control filing. A remittance firm licensed in 40 states can face 40 separate approvals before completion, so buyers map every licence, each regulator's review time and any open examination findings before signing, and set a long-stop date that reflects the slowest state.