US Money Services Business (MSB) for Sale — Including Montana MSBs

What the registration permits

FinCEN registration under the Bank Secrecy Act covers businesses such as money transmitters, currency dealers and exchangers, check cashers, providers and sellers of prepaid access, and dealers in convertible virtual currency. Registration is federal and must be renewed every two years. It is a registration, not a licence: it does not on its own authorise money transmission in a given state.

State licences and Montana

Money transmission is licensed state by state. Montana is the only US state without a money transmitter licensing statute, which is why Montana-incorporated MSBs are often used as a base. Serving customers who are located in other states can still require those states' money transmitter licences, so the value of a US MSB depends heavily on which state licences it already holds.

Change of ownership

FinCEN requires an MSB to re-register when there is a transfer of more than 10% of voting power or equity, when a change in ownership or control requires it to be re-licensed under state law, or when its agents increase by more than 50%. Re-registration is due within 180 days of the triggering event. Each state that has licensed the business also applies its own change-of-control rules, which commonly require prior approval and fingerprinting or background checks for new controllers, usually filed through NMLS.

Typical timeline

The FinCEN re-registration itself is a filing, but state change-of-control approvals vary widely, so the timeline is set by the slowest state involved. Buyers should map every state licence before signing.

What to check in due diligence