• Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/

A division of the US Treasury dept., and best known for its “Special Designated Nationals” (SDN) list.  This is a list of people and companies that you are to watch for, and you are not supposed to do business with them.  There are currently about 4300 names on the list, and it is updated about every 2 weeks.  It is your responsibility to keep your list up to date. Every customer entering your premises must be checked against this list. Dazzle™ does this silently and constantly, and alerts you if a customer appears to match a name on the list. If you look at the list (click here) it is obvious a lot of the people and companies listed are not likely to have anything to do with the local check-cashing or pawn shop.  Nonetheless you are required to maintain proper precautions and procedures, and you can be heavily penalized if you are inspected and found not to have proper procedures implemented.

• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/html/faq060305.html

Attention: coin, precious-metals, and jewelry dealers. Also under the Treasury Dept., FinCEN has established Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) regulations that specifically apply to  coin, precious-metals, and jewelry dealers,  although it is understood that pawnbrokers are explicitly exempted provided they meet certain requirements and do not qualify as "dealers". “Qualification” has to do with volume of business, so you must check your status carefully.

• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=152532,00.html

The IRS is very much involved in the AML (anti-money-laundering) efforts. You are required to report to the IRS the names of all customers who perform large numbers of cash transactions, either separately or in a “structured” series of transactions. You must do this using a specially designated document (IRS form 8300).  You must also be alert for any “suspicious activity” involving cash payments, although the guidelines for this are vague.  Be aware that if you operate multiple locations, then total cash transactions for all locations must be consolidated in your AML reporting. Dazzle™ keeps track of all cash payments for you, and prepares the 8300 forms for you. Just push the button.

• Criminal Investigation (CI)
http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=130621,00.html

This is the arm of the IRS responsible for prosecuting non-compliant businesses.  To see examples of what kinds of businesses have been prosecuted (including check-cashing agencies) click here

• The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
http://www.batf.gov

This agency regulates all transactions involving firearms, and employs field inspectors to ensure compliance.  As a dealer in firearms you are required (among other things) to maintain an “Acquisition/Disposition Ledger” containing specific information about where each firearm came from (acquisition) and where it went(disposition).  The format of this ledger must be exactly correct.  Of course there are several other forms and reports you must also provide.  Dazzle™ completely automates the ledger-keeping process, and provides searching, sorting, and reporting capabilities far beyond those of a manual system.

• Federal Trade Commission
www.ftc.gov

Responsible for consumer protection and credit laws. All lenders in the USA must comply with the Truth in Lending Act, (1968), designed to protect consumers, by requiring clear disclosure of the lending arrangement and all costs. The regulations implementing the statute, are known as "Regulation Z". All pawn tickets, loan contracts, etc., must comply with Regulation Z, specifying very exact language, layout, font-sizes, etc.

• Also - the Privacy Act and Gramm-Leach-Bliley act.
You are required to follow strict rules regarding customer privacy, and disclosure of these policies to the customers on your legal and printed documents, including pawn-contracts..

• All Dazzle documents comply with regulation Z and the Gramm Leach Bliley act. One less thing for you to worry about.

• State Regulations, City and License Regulations, Local Police reporting.

As if there weren't enough for check-cashers and pawnbrokers to worry about, there are also a great many laws and regulations at a State level, and a great many City ordinances and licensing requirements that have to be observed.  Needless to say in every State in which it is used, Dazzle™ complies with all regulations, and uses forms and documents approved by the State.

Reporting your transactions to your local city or police department is a huge burden but is accomplished automatically by Dazzle™ through a variety of methods, ranging from paper reports to online data submissions.  In addition Dazzle can communicate electronically to national reporting agencies such as Leads Online, and Business Watch International.

• H.M. Treasury
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Best known for its “Financial Sanctions Targets”  list.  This is a list of people and companies that you are to watch for, and you are not supposed to do business with them.  There are currently about 8,500 names on the list, and it is updated about every 2 weeks.  It is your responsibility to keep your list up to date. Every customer entering your premises must be checked against this list. Dazzle™ does this silently and constantly, and alerts you if a customer appears to match a name on the list.  If you look at the list (click here) it is obvious a lot of the people and companies listed are not likely to have anything to do with the local cheque-cashing shop or pawn shop.  Nonetheless you are required to maintain proper precautions and procedures, and you can be heavily penalised if you are inspected and do not have proper procedures implemented.

• HM Revenue and Customs
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/mlr/getstarted/intro.htm

if you are a pawnbroker or a cheque casher,  you are required to register with HMRC. HMRC conducts regular visits and inspections to “encourage” you to comply with AML (anti money laundering) requirements.  They can report you to the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) if they feel you are engaged in money laundering or terrorist financing. 
That may sound far-fetched to you, but this is what they will require from you

(quoted from HMRC publication COP28)  …

"You must comply with anti-money laundering legislation by putting in place risk sensitive anti-money laundering policies and procedures to prevent your business from being used by money launderers and terrorists. It is important that:

• we see how your business operates your anti-money laundering policies and procedures.

• we have access to all the documentation and records relating to these procedures.

Examples of business records the officer is likely to want to see include:

• anti-money laundering policies and procedures

• policy statement showing business's risk assessment of its customers, products and services

• internal audits of compliance with internal anti-money laundering procedures and controls

• external auditor's report where it relates to compliance with anti-money laundering legislation

• compliance reports in relation to anti-money laundering legislation

• bank statements relating to relevant business

• copies of and references to the evidence of a customer's identity and the supporting records of customer due diligence.

• staff anti-money laundering training manuals.

• records of all transactions covered by money laundering regulations."

This is obviously a very serious matter. The documentation you must produce and the precautions you must take are extensive.
Pawnbrokers are specifically included in this requirement, as are money-service bureaus (such as cheque-cashers).

Dazzle™ is invaluable to you in this area. Naturally it records every transaction. It also tracks the behavior of all customers who pay with large amounts of cash (even in installments over many months).  It can record what types of currency they paid with.  It can sort all this information and produce meaningful searches and reports. It will automatically ensure that all customer Identification papers are up to date (and ask for re-verification at prescribed intervals).  Of course it stores pictures of ID's, and can also store fingerprints..

The cheque-cashing routines in Dazzle™ will monitor customer activity and alert you and your staff to customers whose cumulative cashing habits (over time) are possibly suspicious. The customer is required to give further explanation (on the record) if certain patterns are detected.

It is extremely important to know your customers and confirm their identities.  Dazzle™ leaves no possibility of error in this critical area. You can configure exactly what types of ID are required, and Dazzle™ will not permit you to continue unless all requirements are satisfied. 

To you, the shop owner, all these things mean peace of mind.  You can feel confident that no employee can omit proper ALM and ID procedures when you are not watching,  because Dazzle™ simply won't allow it. When HRMC comes calling (as they will), you know you will have all the necessary facts for them.

• Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA)
http://www.soca.gov.uk/threats/money-laundering

This is the agency you will be answering to if HMRC thinks that your procedures, (or lack of procedures) are inadequate or suspicious. You probably do not want to be under investigation by this agency.

• Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
http://www.oft.gov.uk/

Yet another agency exercising control over how you must conduct your business.
This agency is geared toward fair business practices and consumer protection. But, they also enforce a separate set of ALM requirements of their own.
Are they interested in what you do? Definitely!

They publish a FAQ which says . . .

"If you carry out pawn broking and/or payday lending then you will be providing consumer credit and therefore supervised by the OFT. …
We have powers to take enforcement action where appropriate against those businesses that fail to put in place the required anti-money laundering system and controls – we can seek to prosecute and we can impose civil financial penalties. "

You probably realise by now how useful Dazzle will be in complying with ALM. The OFT also acts as the licensing agency for businesses that offer credit or lend money, and their powers in this area are derived from the Consumer Credit Act. This act governs fair lending practices, legal and contract language and disclosures (for cheque and pawn contracts) and also such technicalities as APR (Annual Percentage Rate) calculations.  Dazzle™ uses up-to-date EU standards for calculating and printing APR, and we are constantly monitoring any possible changes in the law. It is extremely important to make sure all your credit and lending practices comply with this act.

Dazzle ™ printed contracts for cheque cashing and pawnbroking are user-modifiable.  If for any reason you need to make a change to stay compliant with some new law, you can do so yourself in minutes.