MSB newsletter, Issue 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2008)

October to December 2008, Volume 5, Issue #4

(This Newsletter is a quarterly publication containing topics of interest to the categories of MSBs regulated by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. We hope that you will find this publication to be informative and valuable for providing information about the issues affecting your industry. If there are any issues you would like for the Department to highlight or address in future editions, please e-mail your questions or suggestions to dbfmort@dbf.state.ga.us.)

In This Issue:
REGULATORY MATTERS

REGULATORY MATTERS Georgia Regulations & Issues
Proposed Rule Changes Become Effective
Changes in the Regulations Effective August 25, 2008

Proposed DBF Regulations - Effective

1

Check Casher Renewals

1

Sellers of Checks &

Money Transmitter

2

Renewals

The Department of Banking and Finance adopted Final Rules August 4, 2008.

BSA/FEDERAL NEWS

They were filed with the Secretary of State on August 4, 2008, and were effective

MSB Registration

2

20 days following, or August 25, 2008. These rules were proposed and distributed on June 30, 2008. We received one written comment letter in support of the

Updates-FinCEN Forms 107 & 109

3

proposed changes, therefore no changes to the Proposed Rules were made.

HB 4049-Deposit Account Reforms

3

To view or download the Final Rules on our website, go to and select the appropriate link for the Final Rules, OR you may access them directly from: http://dbf.georgia.gov/internal/downloads/?url=/vgn/images/portal/cit_1210/ 60/38/119085108FinalRules8-4-2008.pdf
Of significant interest to Money Service Businesses in Georgia are the following provisions: 80-3-1-.02 Check Cashers.

Customer Service Star 5

Action on Applications During the Previous Quarter/Closed Licensees

5 to 8

Department Contact Information

9

A change has been added to require registrants to post their registration in public

view. Additionally, a form number change has been made.

80-3-1-.07 Administrative Fines and Penalties.

A fine has been added for licensees and registrants that fail to post their license

or registration as required. The fine is $500 for each instance of non-compliance.

80-5-1-.02 License, Registration and Supervision Fees for Check Cashers and

Sellers, Money Transmitters, Representative Offices and Mortgage Lenders and

Brokers; Due Dates.

A non-refundable application investigation fee has been included in the license fees for check sellers and money

transmitters. This application fee is consistent with application investigation fees paid by all other licensees.

Check Casher Renewals
Licensed and registered check cashers who had not completed their renewal by the midnight September 30, 2008 deadline have had their licenses expire and will have to cease check cashing operations. Failure to properly RENEW a license will require a REINSTATEMENT of the license in
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order to conduct a check-cashing business. Those affected should please see the application on the internet at:
http://dbf.georgia.gov/msbforms.

Annual License Renewal - Check Sellers and Money Transmitters Renewals notices have been mailed to all check seller and money transmitter licensees. Renewals must be completed and submitted on or before November 1, 2008 in order to be considered filed on time and to avoid the late fee.
This year the application for renewal is ON- LINE only! Last year paper forms were available, but this year you must complete the renewal on the internet.
BSA/FEDERAL NEWS
FINCEN - MSB Registration List
The MSB Registration List, which is updated and posted on a monthly basis, contains entities that have registered as Money Services Businesses (MSBs) pursuant to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN's) Bank Secrecy Act regulations at 31 CFR 103.41. In accordance with FinCEN Guidance (FIN-2006-G006) on Registration and De-Registration of Money Services Businesses (February 3, 2006), FinCEN will periodically omit from the List any persons who have not renewed their registrations by their renewal deadlines.
FinCEN's Guidance of February 3, 2006 encouraged MSBs to confirm or renew their registrations. FinCEN is coordinating outreach activities with the IRS Stakeholder Liaison staff who will contact those MSBs that failed to renew their registrations to determine if this was an inadvertent error or whether the MSB no longer conducts services that would require the entity to register. This outreach to MSBs, which includes mailing of the following letter http://www.msb.gov/pdf/2nd_letter.pdf, will assist FinCEN in achieving its strategic goal of educating the MSB industry concerning BSA responsibilities
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It is important, however, that licensees note that as in the past, all explanations to the questions that exceed the available on-line space, and any required supporting documents, MUST be attached to the renewal cover sheet and sent to the Department in order to approve the license renewal. If you did not receive a copy of the renewal notice, please contact Ms. Teresa Koeppel at 770/986- 1639 or via e-mail at dbfcorp@dbf.state.ga.us.
This new August 2008 List, which is current as of August 14, 2008, contains data on 37,149 registered MSBs. This is an increase of 585 MSB registrations from the July 17, 2008 total of 36,564.
The List reflects information exactly as provided by the filers and comprises Registrants' names, "doing business as" names, addresses, MSB services provided, states in which the registrants offer MSB services, numbers of branches, and dates of authorized signature. The List is arranged alphabetically first, by state, then, by each city within the state, and finally, by MSB Registrant name within each city. FinCEN has made each State listing available in an Excel format that can easily be downloaded so that queries can be run using various other software applications. Dates contained in the posted MSB Registration List are formatted as mm/dd/yyyy in order to enable sorting of the List by authorization date.
This posted List is intended only as general reference for the public and should not be treated as definitive or determinative of an entity's registration status. The only determinative evidence of an entity's registration status is the acknowledgement letter from the IRS-Detroit Computing Center (DCC) received by an entity after

filing its registration. A copy of the DCC acknowledgment letter, along with a facsimile of the registration form, should be maintained as a part of an MSB's records for five years.

2732. For inquiries regarding MSB registration acknowledgement letters, call the IRS-DCC Hotline at 800-800-2877. MSB Registration List August 2008

FinCEN continues to work with DCC on data quality issues with regard to the List. For more information on MSB registration, visit www.msb.gov. For inquiries regarding the MSB registration list, call the FinCEN MSB Regulatory Helpline at 1-800-949-

THE INCLUSION OF A BUSINESS ON THIS LIST IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION OR ENDORSEMENT OF
THE BUSINESS BY ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

FINCEN Forms Updates

Form 107 Registration of Money Service Business (RMSB)
Important Notice: Revised RMSB Form 107 for Money Services Business Registration is Effective September 1, 2008.
Effective September 1, 2008, a Money Services Business is required to use the revised FinCEN Form 107, Registration of Money Services Business (RMSB) to register its business. FinCEN announced in April 2008 that it was revising the RMSB Form 107.
This change is required to incorporate the five (5) critical fields that are now mandatory for a registration to be accepted (Legal name, Address, City, State, and EIN (entity) or SSN/ITIN (individual)). All previous versions of Form 107 will not be accepted after December 31, 2008.

Please note the "will not be accepted after" dates on the revised RMSB Form 107 are different on the WebCBRS facsimile of the form (2/29/09) and on the form posted on the FinCEN website (12/31/08). The date of December 31, 2008 was chosen for "after which previous editions will not be accepted" because it coincides with the December 31st deadline for registration. Questions regarding the revised RMSB Form 107 may be directed to the FinCEN Regulatory Helpline at 1-800-949-2732.
Form 109 SAR MSB
This update is to the forms instructions. No changes have been made to the data elements (fields) in the form, but the changes in instructions may affect the form's completion. The date on the form remains 03/07; the instructions are dated 10/08.

FYI - House Bill 4049 - Pending

7/22/2008--(Washington) House Bill 4049, the purpose of which is to amend section 5318 of Title 31, United States Code by eliminating regulatory burdens imposed on insured depository institutions and money services businesses and enhance the availability of transaction accounts at depository institutions for such business, has been passed in the House. The bill now goes on to be voted on in the Senate. Keep in mind that debate may be taking place on a companion bill in the Senate, rather than on this particular bill.

Known as the Money Service Business Act of 2008, this bill amends federal law governing anti-money laundering programs to provide that an insured depository institution has no obligation to review the compliance with federal anti-money laundering requirements of a money transmitting business for whom it maintains an account if such institution has on file specified mandatory self-certifications submitted by the money transmitting business.
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The bill provides that money services businesses (MSBs) may self-certify their compliance with anti-money and counter-terrorism regulations when establishing accounts with federally insured depository institutions. MSBs must certify that they are in compliance with federal banking law and registered as such. Additionally, the MSB must certify that it maintains an anti-money laundering program as required by federal law, be licensed or registered as an MSB by each State in which it operates, and meet such other regulations as the Treasury Secretary formulates to assure strong anti-crime regimes. The bill prescribes requirements for self-certification by a money transmitting business
The MSB certification requirements under this bill also extend to agents of money transmitting businesses. In addition to the certification requirements for MSBs, agents of MSBs must provide that they are contract bound agents of an MSB, will comply with all applicable laws, and will notify any federally insured depository institution of any material changes to their relationship with the MSB to which they are a contracted agent.
The Bill also sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act without regard to whether such violations were willful and shields such institution from liability for the non-compliance of a money transmitting business and its agents with federal anti-money laundering requirements. The Bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe implementing regulations.
Where does it stand? As noted, it has passed in the House. The bill now goes on to be voted on in the Senate. Keep in mind that debate may be taking place on a companion bill in the Senate, rather than on this particular bill.
E-MAIL UPDATES!!! https://bkgfin.dbf.state.ga.us/MSBUpdate.html
A reminder make certain we have the correct e-mail address for your license or registration so that you will receive all notices and correspondence!

Upcoming Speaking Engagements
There are no upcoming speaking engagements for the 4th quarter, 2008.

REMAINING 2008 STATE HOLIDAYS the offices of the
Department of Banking & Finance will be closed as noted below.

Holiday Columbus Day

Date or Observed Date October 13th - Monday

Veterans' Day Thanksgiving Day

November 11th - Tuesday
November 27th - Thursday Lee's Birthday will be observed on Friday, November 28thth

Christmas Day

December 25th - Thursday
Washington's Birthday will be observed on Friday, Dec. 26th

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CUSTOMER SERVICE GEORGIA
Governor Sonny Perdue's campaign is to put new emphasis on customer service, emphasizing easier access to government services, faster processes so customers can get business done quickly, and friendlier service in a customer-focused, goaloriented culture. It is the Department's goal to provide excellent customer service, meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers. Along those lines, we would like to recognize the following individual for going above and beyond in serving our customers.
Teresa Koeppel, Administrative Examiner, MSB Staff: The Department received comments from a customer stating: "Of all the regulators we have dealt with, holding almost 50 state licenses throughout the country, my basis for writing you is that I found you to be the most professional, responsive and organized regulator I dealt with."
CONGRATULATIONS AND GREAT JOB!!
The Department is the state agency that regulates and examines banks, credit unions, and trust companies chartered by the State. The Department also has regulatory and/or licensing authority over mortgage brokers, lenders, and processors, money service businesses, international banking organizations, and bank holding companies conducting business in Georgia.
Our MISSION is to promote safe, sound, competitive financial services in Georgia
through innovative, responsive regulation and supervision.
Z Z Z
Our VISION is to be the best financial services industry regulator in the country
Progressive. Proactive. Service-Oriented.

ACTION ON APPLICATIONS DURING THE PREVIOUS QUARTER

APPROVED CHECK CASHERS (License/Registration) Third Quarter 2008

Lic# 23471 23483 23484 23485 23487 23493 23505 23507 23510 23514 23518

Company Name Sol & Kay, Inc. Swamy USA Inc. Advanced Title Pawn, LLC H & S Business Inc. Regina M. Bone West Georgia Check Cashing, Inc. KK Business Inc. Bhawani Krupa, Inc. Tabo's Retail, Inc. West Park Enterprises, Inc. Asha Pura, LLC

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DBA Name C&D Package Store
Shell Food Mart Cagney's Party Shop West GA Check Cashing
Shop Rite Tabo's Food Mart Chevron Food Mart Yogi's Liquor Mart

City Stone Mountain Murrayville Ringgold Kennesaw Columbus Carrollton Kennesaw Americus Jefferson Stone Mountain Dublin

Type L R L R L L L R L R R

Approved 7/1/08 7/3/08 7/3/08 7/3/08 7/3/08 7/3/08
7/28/08 7/15/08 7/16/08 7/18/08 7/18/08

Lic# 23520 23525 23531 23534 23540 23544 23547 23554 23555 23561 23562 23566 23570 23572 23573 23575 23585 23587 23590 23592 23595 23597 23598 23601 23603 23604 23605 23606 23613 23614 23615 23623 23624 23625 23626

Company Name U. B. Identity Solutions, Inc. Akshat Wine and Spirits, Inc. Star Package Shop, LLC Javier Granados Dhrup Corporation JZS, Inc. Alwani Group of Companies, Inc. Bellavista II, LLC Shree Shiv, Inc. C & H Liquor Store, Inc. Lucero Grocery Atlanta Drinks, LLC Afshan Enterprises, Inc. AAS Investment Inc. Jaineta R. Amin Aryan Food Corporation of Jesup, Inc. Ayesha Enterprises, LLC Vraj Investment, Inc. Food Basket, Inc. M K Investment Firm, LLC One Stop Money Center, Inc. Mukesh Kala Song's Easy Shop, Inc. MARKSND Investments, Inc. Aquil Investment, Inc. SOWEGA Financial Services, LLC J. C. Enterprises & Co., LLC SWL Corporation Blackshear Investment Group, Inc. Jae James Lee Shivam Corporation of GA A and D Foods, Inc. Local Check Cashing, Inc. Shree Laxmi Investments, Inc. H&S Mart, Inc.

DBA Name Cash It USA Rooster's Package Jack's Package Shop Javier's Check Casher North Ridge Stop N Shop Washington Food Mart Shell Food Mart Taqueria Y Carniceria Bellavista #2 Lakeland Quick Stop
Skyland Package A Shell Convenience Center Exxon Food Mart Sunny Swifty Country Corner Ribitz Bait & Tackle Latimer Minit Mart Food Basket Alpharetta Street Bottle Store
Twin Lakes Beverage Haus Easy Shop Pharr Food and Gas Quick Pick Food Mart
Raceway 868 Family Supermarket Whistle Stop Package Store Walton Food Mart 341 Quick Stop Quick Stop Local Check Cashing Texaco Food Mart H&S Mart

R=Registrant L=Full Service

City Union City Columbus Savannah Gainesville Rome East Point Forest Park Conyers Lakeland Atlanta Royston Atlanta Kennesaw Gainesville Tifton Jesup LaGrange Hazlehurst Marietta Roswell Atlanta Milledgevile Atlanta Atlanta Canton Albany Augusta Macon Blackshear Atlanta Hazlehurst Americus Doraville Suwanee Lawrenceville

Type L R L L R R R R R L R L R R R L R R R L L R R L R R R R R R R R L R R Total

Approved 7/21/08 7/29/08 7/30/08 8/5/08 8/8/08 8/15/08 8/15/08 8/15/08 8/15/08 8/27/08 8/20/08 8/21/08 8/27/08 8/29/08 9/4/08 9/15/08 9/15/08 9/16/08 9/22/08 9/18/08 9/17/08 9/17/08 9/16/08 9/22/08 9/22/08 9/22/08 9/22/08 9/22/08 9/25/08 9/25/08 9/25/08 9/29/08 9/29/08 9/29/08 9/29/08 46

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EXPIRED/CLOSED CHECK CASHERS (License/Registration)

Lic # 9151 12167 14978 16089 16156 16268 16695 16851 18638 18996 19649 19655 19795 19934 20078 20101 20600 20607 20777 21146 21193 21315 21327 21483 21523 21581 21666 21823 21835 22027 22074 22093 22127 22285 22666 22750 22783 22874 23061 23075 23145

Company The Check Mart, Inc. Secondi, Inc. Howard H. Rainey Ok Sun Kim Yoo Ja Kim Cedar Heights Corporation J & Kay, Inc. Prince Andrew, Inc. Chul Ho Yun HDC Group, Inc. Chang K. Enterprises, Inc. Woong Ok Jun Chesterfield Finance of Georgia, Inc. ZMA Enterprise, Inc. Duluth Package Store Incorporated Hye Son Thurston Clark-Dodge Enterprises, Inc. Jae-Wang Choi KB Investments, Inc. Geeta B. Patel AMB-JAL-SAR, Inc. Tayco, Inc. Jay Gopal, Inc. ARB Check Cashers Anshoya Food Market of Jesup, Inc. ANB Enterprises, Inc. E&J Liquors, Inc. Jack's Package Shop, Inc. Emil Kaneti, Inc. Akshat Beverage, Inc. Jong U. Kim P&E Title Pawn & Check Cashing, Inc. Jagi, Inc. Shanker Inc Guatam Desai FS Super Market, Inc. Ramniklal Retail, LLC Riley Food Mart, Inc. Cash All Time, Inc. A&A Business, Inc. Dhruti, Inc.

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DBA Name The Check Mart, Inc. U.S. Check Cashing Services of GA (USCCS) C. J.'s Exchange Park Pointe Community Grocery Walton Food Supermarket Western Way Station #1 Shell Gas Station United Check Cashing C & H Liquor Store J & J Eagles Package Store Bottle House Seven to Seven Newsstand Chesterfield Finance Amoco Food Mart Duluth Package Store Easy Shop Lighthouse Liquors E-Z Check Cash St. Marlowe Convenience Store Yogi's Liquor Mart Qwik Stop #11 Whistle Stop Package Store Brookwood Stop & Shop Pharr Food Mart Country Corner Community Grocery E&J Liquor Store Jack's Package Shop Mr. Check Cashing Rooster's Package EZ Check Cashing Mr. Money Cordele Food Mart Panola Package DJ Petro Five Star Super Market Sunoco Food Mart Citgo Food Mart Cash All Time Quick Pick Gorin's Homemade Cafe

City Conyers Chamblee Cordele Atlanta Atlanta Woodstock Tucker Duluth Atlanta Decatur Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Doraville Duluth Atlanta Albany Snellville Lawrenceville Dublin Americus Blackshear Dublin Atlanta Jesup Conyers Roswell Savannah Austell Columbus Doraville Lilburn Cordele Decatur Waynesboro Atlanta Griffin Marietta Carrollton Canton Duluth

Type LD LD LD LD RD LD LD LD LD RD LD RD RD LD RD RD LD LD LD RD RD RD RD LD LD RD LD RD LD RD LD LD RD RD RD LD LD RD LD RD RD

Closed 7/29/08 9/29/08 8/25/08 7/15/08 9/24/08 8/29/08
9/9/08 7/18/08 8/27/08 9/12/08 7/15/08 7/17/08 7/17/08 7/17/08 7/17/08 9/16/08 7/17/08 8/28/08 7/15/08 7/17/08 8/29/08 9/12/08
8/6/08 9/17/08 9/15/08 8/15/08 9/12/08 7/10/08 8/15/08 7/29/08 9/26/08 7/17/08 8/15/08
8/4/08 7/30/08 8/28/08 7/17/08 9/17/08
7/1/08 9/18/08
8/6/08

Lic # 23165 23424

Company Escamilla, Inc. Arafat Afaneh

DBA Name JJ's Liquor Store Bill Payment Center

City Cartersville Savanah

Type LD LD
Total

Closed 9/5/08
7/29/08 43

APPROVED/EXPIRED CHECK SELLERS/ MONEY TRANSMITTERS

Lic #

Company Name

Approved Money Transmitters

23217

Banrural Corporation

Closed Money Transmitters

DBA Name

Approved 8/05/2008

Closed

City

ST

Washington DC

Total

1

21348 22913 22685

PreCash, Inc. CambioReal Incorporated Jay International, LLC

PreCash

8/12/2008 8/14/2008 9/5/2008

Houston Newark Tucker
Total

TX DE GA
3

APPROVED NAME CHANGE: CHECK SELLERS/ MONEY TRANSMITTERS

Lic #

Company Name

Approved Money Transmitters

NONE

DBA Name

Approved

City

ST

Total

0

Check Casher Upgrades/Downgrades in Third Quarter
Downgraded from Full License to Registration 23| Total for 2008 - 26 Upgraded from Registration to Full License 24 | Total for 2008 - 33

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Department Contact Information

NAME Melinda Kinard, Director of Money Service Businesses and Mortgage Licensing Joel Byers, Supervisory Manager - Money Service Businesses (MSBs) Peter Lisowski, Financial Examiner
Teresa Koeppel, Administrative Examiner
Susan Nelson, Applications Analyst

E-MAIL ADDRESS mkinard@dbf.state.ga.us

PHONE# 770-986-1649

byers@dbf.state.ga.us

770-986-1656

lisowski@dbf.state.ga.us tkoeppel@dbf.state.ga.us nelson@dbf.state.ga.us

770-986-1315 770-986-1639 770-986-1652

Mailing Address: Department of Banking and Finance 2990 Brandywine Road, Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30341-5565
Website: http://dbf.georgia.gov
Phone & Fax Numbers: Phone: (770) 986-1633 or Toll Free: (888) 986-1633 Fax: (770) 986-1655 or (770) 986-1029

E-MAILING THE DEPARTMENT
The Department would like to encourage you to correspond with us using e-mail. Providing written details in the e-mail regarding any questions or concerns you may have allows the Department to forward the request to the appropriate person who handles that area, and if sufficient details are included in the request, that person can then more efficiently provide you an answer. The main Division e-mail address is dbfmort@dbf.state.ga.us
In the event you still need additional information or you do not receive a timely response to your e-mail, please contact us by phone.
NOTE: This publication is delivered to interested parties via e-mail and is also available from the Department's website at: http:// dbf.georgia.gov under News/Press Releases. If you would like to be added to our distribution list, please send an e-mail to dbfcorp@dbf.state.ga.us and indicate your name, the company you are with, license or registration # (if applicable), and phone number. Also, please indicate which publication(s) you would like to receive. See the list under PUBLICATIONS on our home page.
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