Regulation
The money transfer sector is not currently regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), although it is on the radar of the UK Financial Regulator.
Companies that commence in business as money transfer companies need to register and obtain a Certificate of Registration from HM Revenue & Customs, appoint a UK based Money Laundering Reporting Officer and demonstrate that they have the required Anti-Money Laundering systems and controls in place to be eligible to commence in business, with registration required for each separate outlet.
All companies previously registered with HMRC were recently required to re-register and demonstrate the ‘fitness and proprietary' of the individuals involved in running the business.
Often companies in this sector also tend to have close working relationships with their banking partners, and are subject to separate ‘internal audit' visits and inspections by banking teams to ensure that they can demonstrate to their banking counterparties that all anti money laundering processes and procedures are in place, and are compliant with all UK regulations.
LMG can advise on all your specific legislative and compliance requirements in these areas.