For Immediate Release: August 27, 2024
Wisconsin DFI Announces New Money Transmitter License
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) today announced the agency will begin accepting applications for a new money transmitter license through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS®) on October 1, 2024.
“The new money transmitter license replaces the current seller of checks license,” said DFI Secretary Cheryll Olson-Collins. “Companies holding a Wisconsin seller of checks license will notice the license name change within NMLS® on September 3, 2024. Existing Wisconsin seller of checks licensees will not be required to reapply for a new money transmitter license; however, they must comply with the new money transmitter license requirements by the time they take effect on January 1, 2025.”
Governor Tony Evers created the new money transmitter license when he signed 2023 Senate Bill 668, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 267, into law on April 4, 2024. The legislation repealed the entirety of Chapter 217 of the Wisconsin Statutes and replaced it with model legislation, known as the Money Transmission Modernization Act, for governing the licensing and regulation of money transmitters to create uniform nationwide standards for these entities. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2025.
“The Money Transmission Modernization Act, created by state regulators and industry experts, is a single set of nationwide standards and requirements approved by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors to provide regulators with the necessary tools to regulate money transmitters of all sizes, including those that operate globally or small businesses operating locally,” said Olson-Collins. “It standardizes the licensing process, including determinations of who is in control of a licensee and the vetting process, and safety and soundness requirements, including net worth, bonding, and permissible investments. Plus, the model law helps promote consistency among states by standardizing the exemptions from money transmitter licensing and it eliminates technical differences between states that currently make compliance difficult for companies operating in multiple states.”
In addition, 2023 Wisconsin Act 267 made numerous changes to the DFI’s regulation of nondepository financial service providers. It authorized the DFI to require nondepository financial service providers to use NMLS® for licensing, renewal, and other required regulatory filings. The legislation also revised certain licensing and regulatory provisions of collection agencies, and it revised licensing and regulatory provisions of certain licensed consumer lenders, which generally are lenders other than banks, savings banks, savings and loan associations, or credit unions.
For more information on the new money transmitter license, visit the DFI’s money transmitter webpage, review the updated Wisconsin state licensing requirements within NMLS® on September 3, 2024, or contact the DFI’s Licensed Financial Services Bureau by calling (608) 261-7578 or emailing DFI_LFS@dfi.wisconsin.gov.
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Media Contact Email: DFICommunications@dfi.wisconsin.gov