Money Services Businesses

Classes

The classes of licence issued under the Money Services Business Act, No. 26 of 2008 authorise the holder to carry on money services business as follows:

• Class A – transmission of money or monetary value in any form, issuance, sale or redemption of money orders or traveller’s cheques, cheque cashing and currency exchange.
• Class B – issuance, sale or redemption of money orders or traveller’s cheques, cheque cashing and currency exchange.
• Class C – cheque cashing.
• Class D – currency exchange.
• Class E – pay day advances.

Where different places of business are kept in the name of the same legal person, a separate licence is required for each place of business.

Licensing

To obtain a licence, an applicant applies in writing to the Financial Services Regulatory Commission, pays the prescribed application fee, completes Form A and Form B as set out in Schedule 2 of the Money Services Business Act 2008, and submits the required documents.

The Commission processes the application in accordance with its application processing procedures. If it is satisfied that the application is in order and the applicant is a fit and proper person, it approves the application and issues a licence, subject to payment of the prescribed licence fee and the prescribed statutory deposit.

The Commission may ask for a delegation of the applicant’s senior officers, or in the case of an independent institution its principal controllers, to make a presentation on the applicant and its proposed business before a formal application is submitted.

Audited financial statements required

• If the applicant was operating before the date of application, audited financial statements – balance sheet, profit and loss, auditor’s report and notes to accounts – for the five consecutive years immediately preceding the application. Where the applicant has operated for less than five years, statements for each year of operation are sufficient.
• Where that does not apply, an audited opening balance sheet.
• Operating projections for the first five years, including balance sheet, income statement and cash flow projections in an acceptable accounting format, with any financial or economic assumptions clearly indicated.
• Where the applicant is a subsidiary or affiliate of another company, audited financial statements of the parent and all other connected companies, in addition to the above.

Application

• Form A – information to be contained in, and to accompany, an application for the grant of a licence.
• Form B – personal questionnaire, the fit and proper test.

Fees

Class	Application fee (USD)	Annual licence fee (USD)
Class A	2,000	10,000
Class B	2,000	10,000
Class C	2,000	10,000
Class D	2,000	10,000
Class E	2,000	10,000

Fees are indicative; confirm current fees with the Commission before applying.

Supervision

Duration and renewal

A licence runs from the date of first issue to 31 December of that year and is renewable each year on payment of the prescribed annual fee on or before 15 January. Where the Commission has reasonable cause to suspect that a person is carrying on money services business without a licence, it may lay the matter before a Magistrate.

Accounts

A licensee must appoint an auditor annually, who must be a Chartered Accountant, Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Eastern Caribbean, or another professionally qualified accountant. The auditor reports on the annual financial statements and financial position of the licensee, and that its accounting records and systems of business control comply with the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, No. 25 of 2008.

Annual returns

• A Class A or Class B licensee files quarterly returns with the Commission, in the format the Commission provides, within fifteen days of the end of a quarter, with a written declaration that the information in its licence application remains correct and gives a fair picture of its operations.
• A Class C, Class D or Class E licensee files an annual return within fifteen days of the end of the financial year, with the same written declaration.

Revocation and termination

The Commission may revoke a licence if the licensee:

• fails to commence operations within three months of the licence being granted;
• fails to comply with the conditions or restrictions of its licence;
• is in breach of any provision of the Money Services Business Act;
• ceases to carry on money services business in Saint Christopher and Nevis;
• is conducting its affairs in a manner detrimental to the public interest or to the interest of its customers;
• goes into liquidation, is winding up or is otherwise dissolved; or
• by reason of any other circumstance is no longer a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

The Commission will also terminate a licence at the request of the licensee.

Legislation

The Act and the fee order made under it.