Regulatory Alerts2008-05-21
Added
Ruling on Whether an Authorized Agent for the Receipt of Utility Payments is a Money Transmitter
FinCEN concludes that an entity acting as an authorized agent for the receipt of utility payments is not a money transmitter under 31 C.F.R. § 103.11(uu)(5). This determination applies because the entity accepts payments on behalf of the utilities rather than on behalf of consumers, a function similar to merchant payment processors. The ruling relies on the specific facts that payments are made payable to the utility companies and deposited into accounts from which utilities withdraw funds via ACH transactions.