money – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

South Carolina Is the Latest State to Implement Money Transmitter Licensing Laws and Regulations

Aug 03 2018

By Eric A. Love and Judith E. Rinearson

On May 25, 2018, South Carolina’s money transmitter licensing law, the South Carolina Anti-Money Laundering Act, and its implementing regulations (collectively, the “Act”) became effective.

This means that the newly established Money Services Division (the “Division”) within the SC Attorney General’s Office is now accepting applications for licensure to engage in money transmission and currency exchange in that state. Entities that were engaging in such activities in South Carolina as of May 25 had until June 29, 2018 to submit an application. After submission, such entities were able to continue operating while their applications were being reviewed.

Vermont Signals Broad Interpretation of Money Transmitter Law

Jun 28 2018

By Jennifer Crowder and Jeremy McLaughlin

Recently, largely due to emerging payment systems and new ways of conducting business online, there has been a trend developing among states that certain activity does not require money transmitter licensing. For example, several states have amended their statutes or issued regulatory guidance to indicate that a license is not needed if an entity is acting as an “agent of the payee” or as a “payment processor,” so long as certain conditions are met. In general, an agent of the payee is an entity that has a contractual relationship with the merchant or other ultimate payee such that payment to that entity constitutes, in effect, final payment. New York, for example, describes it as “any person authorized by a payee to receive funds on behalf of the payee and to deliver such funds received from the payor to the payee.” N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 3, § 406.2(l).

Hope for Regulatory Relief on the Horizon? State Regulators to Standardize Licensing Process for Money Transmitters

Mar 27 2018

By Eric A. Love and Judith Rinearson

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) recently announced that seven states, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, have agreed to a multi-state compact (the Compact) that will standardize certain aspects of the licensing process for money services businesses (MSBs).

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