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Money Services Business
A money services business (MSB) is a legal term used by financial regulators to describe businesses that transmit or convert money. The definition was created to encompass more than just banks which normally provide these services to include non-bank financial institutions. An MSB has specific meanings in different jurisdictions, but generally includes any business that transmits money or representatives of money, provides foreign currency exchange such as Bureaux de change, or cashes cheques or other money related instruments. It is often used in the context of Anti Money Laundering (AML) legislation and rules. Money services businesses are governed by their local regulators and have to adhere with record-keeping requirements to conduct customer due diligence if customers request for an amount of foreign currency that exceeds a certain threshold set to detect money laundering. An MSB often provides an essential financial service to underdeveloped regions with limited or no banki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Regulators
Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled by either a government or non-government organization. Financial regulation has also influenced the structure of banking sectors by increasing the variety of financial products available. Financial regulation forms one of three legal categories which constitutes the content of financial law, the other two being market practices and case law. History In the early modern period, the Dutch were the pioneers in financial regulation. The first recorded ban (regulation) on short selling was enacted by the Dutch authorities as early as 1610. Aims of regulation The objectives of financial regulators are usually: * market confidence – to maintain confidence in the financial system * financial stability – contributing to the protection and e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti Money Laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions. It is usually a key operation of organized crime. In US law, money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, or destination of illegally gained money. In UK law the common law definition is wider. The act is defined as "taking any action with property of any form which is either wholly or in part the proceeds of a crime that will disguise the fact that that property is the proceeds of a crime or obscure the beneficial ownership of said property". In the past, the term "money laundering" was applied only to financial transactions related to organized crime. Today its definition is often expanded by government and international regulators such as the US Of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suspicious Activity Report
In financial regulation, a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) or Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) is a report made by a financial institution about suspicious or potentially suspicious activity. The criteria to decide when a report must be made varies from country to country, but generally is any financial transaction that does not make sense to the financial institution; is unusual for that particular client; or appears to be done only for the purpose of hiding or obfuscating another, separate transaction. The report is filed with that country's financial crime enforcement agency, which is typically a specialist agency designed to collect and analyse transactions and then report these to relevant law enforcement. Front line staff in the financial institution have the responsibility to identify transactions that may be suspicious and these are reported to a designated person that is responsible for reporting the suspicious transaction. This means that the front line staff can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawala
Hawala or hewala ( ar, حِوالة , meaning ''transfer'' or sometimes ''trust''), also known as in Persian, and or in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based on the performance and honour of a huge network of money brokers (known as ''hawaladars''). They operate outside of, or parallel to, traditional banking, financial channels and remittance systems. The system requires a minimum of two hawaladars that take care of the "transaction" without the movement of cash or telegraphic transfer. While hawaladars are spread throughout the world, they are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Hawala follows Islamic traditions but its use is not limited to Muslims. Origins The hawala system originated in India. Hawala as a legal concept came to be described as early as 1327, according to Schramm and Taube, though the actual practice has existed since the 8th century between Indian, Arab and Muslim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Remittance
A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes with international aid as one of the largest financial inflows to developing countries. Workers' remittances are a significant part of international capital flows, especially with regard to labor-exporting countries. According to the World Bank, in 2018 overall global remittance grew 10% to US$689 billion, including US$528 billion to developing countries. Overall global remittance is expected to grow 3.7% to US$715 billion in 2019, including US$549 billion to developing nations. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alternative Financial Services
An alternative financial service (AFS) is a financial service provided outside traditional banking institutions, on which many low-income individuals depend. In developing countries, these services often take the form of microfinance. In developed countries, the services may be similar to those provided by banks and include payday loans, rent-to-own agreements, pawnshops, refund anticipation loans, some subprime mortgage loans and car title loans, and non-bank check cashing, money orders, and money transfers. It also includes traditional moneylending by door-to-door collection. In New York City, these are called check-cashing stores, and they are legally exempted from the 25 percent criminal usury cap. Alternative financial services are typically provided by non-bank financial institutions, although person-to-person lending and crowd funding also play a role. These alternative financial service providers are estimated to process about 280 million transactions per year, repre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fincen
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. Mission FinCEN's director expressed its mission in November 2013 as "to safeguard the financial system from illicit use, combat money laundering and promote national security." FinCEN serves as the U.S. Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and is one of 147 FIUs making up the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. FinCEN's self-described motto is " follow the money." The website states: "The primary motive of criminals is financial gain, and they leave financial trails as they try to launder the proceeds of crimes or attempt to spend their ill-gotten profits." It is a network bringing people and information together, by coordinating information sharing with law enforcement agencies, regulat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HM Revenue And Customs
HM Revenue and Customs (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or HMRC) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the His Majesty's Government, UK Government responsible for the tax collection, collection of Taxation in the United Kingdom, taxes, the payment of some forms of Welfare state in the United Kingdom, state support, the administration of other regulatory Regime#Politics, regimes including the national minimum wage and the issuance of national insurance numbers. HMRC was formed by the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, which took effect on 18 April 2005. The department's logo is the St Edward's Crown enclosed within a circle. Prior to the Elizabeth II, Queen's death on 8 September 2022, the department was known as ''Her'' Majesty's Revenue and Customs and has since been amended to reflect the change of monarch. Departmental responsibilities The department is responsible for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheques
A cheque, or check (American English; see spelling differences) is a document that orders a bank (or credit union) to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing the cheque, known as the ''drawer'', has a transaction banking account (often called a current, cheque, chequing, checking, or share draft account) where the money is held. The drawer writes various details including the monetary amount, date, and a payee on the cheque, and signs it, ordering their bank, known as the ''drawee'', to pay the amount of money stated to the payee. Although forms of cheques have been in use since ancient times and at least since the 9th century, they became a highly popular non-cash method for making payments during the 20th century and usage of cheques peaked. By the second half of the 20th century, as cheque processing became automated, billions of cheques were issued annually; these volumes peaked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and sometimes, a standard of deferred payment. Money was historically an emergent market phenomenon that possess intrinsic value as a commodity; nearly all contemporary money systems are based on unbacked fiat money without use value. Its value is consequently derived by social convention, having been declared by a government or regulatory entity to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private", in the case of the United States dollar. Contexts which erode public confidence, such as the circulation of counterfeit money or domestic hyperinflation, can cause good money to lose its value. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bureaux De Change
A bureau de change (plural bureaux de change, both ) (British English) or currency exchange (American English) is a business where people can exchange one currency for another. Nomenclature Although originally French, the term "bureau de change" is widely used throughout Europe and French-speaking Canada, where it is common to find a sign saying "exchange" or "change". Since the adoption of the euro, many exchange offices have started incorporating its logotype prominently on their signage. In the United States and English-speaking Canada the business is described as "currency exchange" and sometimes "money exchange", sometimes with various additions such as "foreign", "desk", "office", "counter", "service", etc.; for example, "foreign currency exchange office". Location A bureau de change is often located at a bank, at a travel agent, airport, main railway station or large stores—namely, anywhere there is likely to be a market for people needing to convert currency. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Currency Conversion
In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of the euro. The exchange rate is also regarded as the value of one country's currency in relation to another currency. For example, an interbank exchange rate of 114 Japanese yen to the United States dollar means that ¥114 will be exchanged for or that will be exchanged for ¥114. In this case it is said that the price of a dollar in relation to yen is ¥114, or equivalently that the price of a yen in relation to dollars is $1/114. Each country determines the exchange rate regime that will apply to its currency. For example, a currency may be floating, pegged (fixed), or a hybrid. Governments can impose certain limits and controls on exchange rates. Countries can also have a strong or weak currency. There is no agreement in the econom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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