Illinois Money Transmitter License Guide

A money transmitter license is required for entities who wish to:

• sell or issue payment instruments

• engage in the business of receiving money for transmission or transmitting money within the US or abroad

Licensing is regulated and supervised by the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR) . However, license management – including new application submissions – is managed through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS).

You can access all applicable forms online via the California NMLS page .

You can find the new application checklist on the Illinois NMLS page .

• The direct link to the Illinois Money Transmitter application form is available here .

Prior to starting the licensing process, you will first need to:

• Complete your FinCEN Registration

• Complete your Illinois Secretary of State Registration

• Company Form (MU1): This form serves as the application form when applying for a Money Transmitter license. More information about the (MU1) form can be found here .

• Resident/Registered Agent: The name listed in the Company Form (MU1) must match IDFPR records.

• Other Trade Name: If you want to operate using a name different than your legal name, a trade name must be provided in the “Other Trade Name” section in the (MU1) form and the Certificate of Authority/Good Standing Certificate.

• Primary Contact Employees: Identify and list the names of the people who take the following positions:

  • Primary Company Contact

  • Primary Consumer Complaint Contact

• Non-Primary Contact Employees: This section (in the MU1) refers to the following areas where the names of all relevant people must be included:

  • Exam Billing

  • Licensing

  • Legal

  • Pre-Exam Contact

• Approvals and Designation: Fill in the FinCEN registration number in the (MU1) form.

• Bank Account: Complete this form with your clearing bank account number, relevant name, address, and telephone number.

• Individual Form (MU2): Direct Owners (specified in the Organizational Chart/Description) are required to complete a FBI criminal background check and thе (MU2) form. More information about said form can be found here .

• Disclosure Questions: If you answered with “yes” to any of the Disclosure Questions in the MU2 form, provide a detailed explanation and upload all corresponding documents.

• Control Person (MU2) Attestation: The MU2 form must be attested by the applicable control person before you may submit it along with the Company Form (MU1).

• Authorized Agents (Delegates) Locations: Use the NMLS Uniform Authorized Agent Reporting (UAAR) tool to upload a list of agents authorized to conduct money transmission business in the state.

• AML/BSA Policy: Upload an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) / Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Policy that includes an independent review. Start-up businesses have 18 months after submitting their application to submit this document.

• Certificate of Authority/Good Standing Certificate: Upload a state-issued document, dated no more than 60 days prior to your application submission date. The document must prove you are authorized to do business in the state of Illinois.

• Document Samples: Upload copies of the sample documents listed below:

  • Licensee and authorized seller agreement

  • Sample of receipt issued to consumers with IDFPR language concerning complaints/issues.

• Organizational Chart/Description: Submit a document that shows the percentage of ownership of:

  • Direct owners

  • Indirect owners

  • Subsidiaries and affiliates of the applicant/licensee

• Formation Documents: Provide proof of business formation, including all applicable documentation.

• Business Plan: Upload a business plan that includes:

  • Marketing strategies

  • Products

  • Target markets

  • Fee schedule

  • Operating structure the applicant intends to employ

  • Industry competition

Note: If you’ve already uploaded another business plan that covers the information listed above, there’s no need to upload a second document. Any changes to the business plan must be added to the original file.

• Financial Statement: This form must be prepared by a certified public accountant (CPA) and dated within 90 days of your fiscal year end. It must also include an income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flow. Start-up businesses are required to submit an initial statement of condition only.

• Unaudited Profit and Loss Statements: The financial statement must illustrate the company’s net worth of $10 per authorized seller; ranging from $35,000 to $500,000.

Note: For additional information about financial statements check out the NMLS Financial Statement Quick Guide .

You must upload a company bond furnished by a surety company which is authorized to do business in Illinois. Your full legal name (or “Other Trade Name”) filled in the bond form must exactly match the one used in the (MU1) form.

The bond amount is equal to $100,000 or the daily average of outstanding payment instruments for the last 12 months (or of the business’ operational history, whichever period is shorter.)

Then the bond amount is calculated based on that period. Note that the maximum amount is set at $2,000,000.

If the bond amount exceeds $1,000,000, you have the alternative of posting a bond for $1,000,000 plus an increase based on the net worth of the company, up to a total amount of $2,000,000.

All fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

• IL Application Fee: $100.00

• IL License/Registration Fee: $100.00

• Investigation Fee: $400.00 (paid upon final processing of the application)

• Authorized Seller (Delegate) Fee: $10.00 for each location different than the principal place of business/headquarters.

• Uniform Authorized Agent Reporting Annual Processing Fee: $0.25 (paid annually) for each active authorized agent/delegate location. Only applies to companies with more than 100 agents.

There are no paper documents for this license type. All applications and accompanying files must be submitted via the NMLS website.

If you have any questions, contact the IDFPR Consumer Credit Section licensing staff by phone at (312) 793-5651.

For U.S. Postal Service:

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
Consumer Credit Section
100 West Randolph Street 9-100
Chicago, IL 60601

For assistance with your NMLS account, contact the NMLS call center at (855)-665-7123.