NEW YORK & NATIONWIDE
Most businesses that end up on this page don't arrive already knowing which license they need. They know they move money, or hold customer assets, or operate in payments or digital assets in some form — and they're trying to work out what that actually requires of them at the federal and state level. That's the right starting point. The regulatory question for a financial or digital-asset business is rarely answered by a single license; it's answered by understanding which of several independent regimes apply, in what combination, and what follows once they do.
Our firm advises fintech, payments, and digital asset businesses on federal MSB registration with FinCEN, the New York Money Transmitter License, the New York BitLicense, and the AML/BSA, KYC, OFAC, and cybersecurity compliance programs that accompany them. We work from the business's actual activities — what it holds, what it transmits, and in what capacity — rather than its marketing description or how it categorizes itself, because that's what the applicable regulators actually look at.
OUR APPROACH
We work through the same five-stage process on every regulatory matter we take on, regardless of whether it involves a single federal filing or a combination of federal and state licenses.
Determine. We start by identifying which regimes actually apply to the business — federal MSB registration, a New York Money Transmitter License, a New York BitLicense, or some combination — based on the business's real activity rather than assumptions drawn from how similar-looking companies are typically regulated.
Structure. We then evaluate the regulatory pathway available to the business: direct licensing, an available exemption, an agency relationship with an already-licensed entity, a sponsor-bank or program-manager arrangement, or, for virtual currency businesses, a limited-purpose trust company charter as an alternative to a BitLicense. This decision, made early, tends to matter more to the business's long-term regulatory position than anything in the application itself.
License. Once the structure is settled, we prepare and manage the registration or license application — FinCEN Form 107, the NYDFS money transmitter application through NMLS, or the BitLicense application — and handle the supplemental review that regulators typically conduct beyond the initial filing.
Build Compliance. In parallel, we help build the compliance infrastructure a regulator will expect to see in place: AML/BSA policy, KYC and customer due diligence procedures, OFAC and sanctions screening, and cybersecurity controls, each tailored to the business's actual products and risk profile rather than assembled as a generic template.
Maintain. Once the business is registered or licensed, we continue advising on the obligations that follow — FinCEN's 24-month renewal cycle, NYDFS examinations, agent-list updates, coin-listing policy changes, and the other ongoing requirements that come with operating as a regulated entity rather than simply having been approved as one.
THE THREE REGULATORY REGIMES AT A GLANCE
These three regimes are independent of one another, not a sequence — a business may need one, two, or all three, and none of them substitutes for the others.
FinCEN MSB Registration is a federal requirement under the Bank Secrecy Act, completed on Form 107, that applies to businesses engaged in money transmission, check cashing, currency dealing, money orders, traveler's checks, or certain stored-value activity, regardless of which state they operate in. It's a registration, not a license, and it doesn't by itself authorize a business to transmit money anywhere. Full detail is on our FinCEN MSB Registration page.
The New York Money Transmitter License, issued under Banking Law Article 13-B, governs fiat money transmission involving New York or New York residents — payment processing, remittances, bill pay, and similar activity, regardless of whether the company is physically based in New York. Full detail is on our New York Money Transmitter License page.
The New York BitLicense, issued under 23 NYCRR Part 200, governs virtual currency business activity — receiving or transmitting virtual currency, custody, buying and selling as a customer business, exchange services, and controlling or issuing a virtual currency. NYDFS also permits some of this activity under a limited-purpose trust company charter instead of a BitLicense, depending on the business. Full detail is on our New York BitLicense page.
A business handling only virtual currency generally needs only a BitLicense. A business handling only fiat generally needs only the NYMTL. A business doing both — a common structure for exchanges with fiat on-ramps, for instance — typically needs both, plus federal registration if it independently meets the MSB definition. There's no reliable shortcut around working through each regime on its own terms.
WHICH LICENSE DOES YOUR BUSINESS NEED
Rather than starting from the license names, it's usually more useful to start from what the business actually does. Working through the following questions, in order, generally narrows the field considerably:
Does the business handle fiat currency on behalf of customers — receiving, holding, or transmitting it? If so, the Money Transmitter License is likely in play, subject to any applicable exemption.
Does the business handle virtual currency on behalf of customers — receiving, transmitting, or exchanging it? If so, the BitLicense is likely in play, subject to the same caveat.
Does the business take custody or control of customer assets, fiat or virtual, rather than simply facilitating a transfer between other parties? Custody tends to bring additional scrutiny under whichever regime applies, and under the BitLicense specifically it's one of the five activities that triggers coverage on its own.
Does the business serve New York residents, regardless of where the company itself is physically located? Coverage under New York's regimes doesn't turn on having a New York office, so this question can't be answered by geography alone.
Does an exemption plausibly apply — bank, trust company, credit union status, or a genuine agency relationship with an already-licensed or already-registered entity? If so, that needs to be confirmed against the specific relationship, not assumed from a general resemblance to the exempt category.
Working through these five questions against your specific business model will usually indicate which of the three regimes are realistically in play. It won't give you a final answer — that requires an actual analysis of your business, which is what an initial consultation is for — but it's a considerably better starting point than picking a license page based on which one sounds closest to what you do.
AML/BSA, KYC, OFAC, AND CYBERSECURITY COMPLIANCE
Registration or licensing under any of the three regimes above is the beginning of a business's regulatory obligations, not the end of them. A registered MSB, a licensed money transmitter, and a BitLicensee are each expected to operate under a compliance program a regulator can actually examine — not a policy binder assembled to accompany the application and then set aside.
We build and maintain the core components of that program for clients across all three regimes: an AML/BSA policy tailored to the business's actual transaction patterns and risk profile; a KYC and customer due diligence program covering identity verification, beneficial ownership, and ongoing monitoring; OFAC and sanctions screening appropriate to the business's customer base and geographic exposure; and, for businesses subject to it, a cybersecurity program addressing the controls, incident response, and vendor management NYDFS expects under 23 NYCRR Part 500. Where a business relies on agents, correspondents, or third-party custodians, we also address the policies governing those relationships specifically, since a compliance program that doesn't account for how outside parties fit into the business's operations tends to be the first thing a regulator's review exposes.
We treat this compliance work as inseparable from the registration or licensing engagement itself, not a separate service to be added later. A completed application without a functioning compliance program behind it leaves a business exposed the first time it's examined, whether by FinCEN, NYDFS, or both.
WHY THE INITIAL STRUCTURE MATTERS
The most consequential decision in most engagements happens before any form is filed: whether the business pursues direct licensing, relies on an exemption, structures around an agency or sponsor-bank relationship, or — for virtual currency businesses — considers a limited-purpose trust charter instead of a BitLicense. That choice shapes the business's regulatory obligations, its banking relationships, how it can handle customer funds, and its compliance costs for years afterward, and it's considerably harder to unwind once the business is already operating under a structure than it is to get right at the outset.
That's the reason we start every engagement with this analysis rather than with the application form. A business that defaults into the most obvious license without evaluating its alternatives can end up carrying more regulatory obligation than its actual model requires; a business that assumes a partnership or agency arrangement resolves its licensing position without confirming the arrangement actually meets the relevant exemption can end up unlicensed and out of compliance instead. Either outcome is considerably more expensive to fix after the fact than to avoid at the start.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH LICENSE MY BUSINESS NEEDS?
Start with what your business actually does — whether it handles fiat currency, virtual currency, or both, and whether it takes custody of customer assets — rather than the license name that sounds closest to your industry. The decision guide above walks through the key questions, but a definitive answer requires an actual review of your specific business.
CAN A BUSINESS NEED MORE THAN ONE OF THESE LICENSES AT THE SAME TIME?
Yes, and it's common. A business handling both fiat and virtual currency, for instance, often needs a Money Transmitter License and a BitLicense together, along with FinCEN registration if it independently meets the federal MSB definition. None of the three regimes substitutes for the others.
DOES OBTAINING ONE LICENSE OR REGISTRATION COVER THE OTHERS?
No. Each regime has its own legal definition and its own regulator — FinCEN federally, NYDFS at the state level for both the Money Transmitter License and the BitLicense. Satisfying one doesn't establish that you've satisfied another, even where the underlying business activity overlaps.
WHAT IF MY BUSINESS IS BASED OUTSIDE NEW YORK?
New York's licensing regimes generally turn on whether the business's activities involve New York or New York residents, not on where the company is physically headquartered. A business without a New York office shouldn't assume that fact alone puts it outside NYDFS's reach.
WHAT DOES AN INITIAL CONSULTATION ACTUALLY COVER?
We start by understanding what your business does — how funds or assets move through it, who controls them, and who your customers are — and use that to identify which regimes are realistically in play and what regulatory structure fits best, before any discussion of a specific application.
NEXT STEP
If you're building or operating a fintech, payments, or digital asset business and aren't yet certain which federal or New York regulatory requirements apply, the right starting point is a conversation about what your business actually does, not a specific license application.
Viacheslav Kutuzov
VIACHESLAV KUTUZOV, Esq.
New York Attorney & Counselor-at-Law (6192033)
admitted to practice before the IRS (No.00144810-EA)
55 Broadway, Floor 3, New York, New York 10006
Phone: +1 646 8374669
We apply international standards of confidentiality
ISO / IEC 27001 Information security management
