Montana is now officially the only state in the United States that does not have a law regulating money transmitters. On June 9, 2016, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed into law the South Carolina Anti-Money Laundering Act (the “Act”). Among other things, the Act imposes licensing and other obligations on businesses engaged in money transmission. The Act takes effect the later of one year after approval by the Governor or upon publication in the State Register of final regulations implementing the Act.
Continue Reading South Carolina Enacts Money Transmitter Law
Madden Update: Solicitor General Says the Second Circuit Got it Wrong—But that the Decision Should Still Stand for Now
The controversial decision in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, was “incorrect” and “reflects an unduly crabbed conception of [National Bank Act] preemption,” said the Solicitor General and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) in the amicus brief filed with the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday. Still, the Solicitor General and the OCC advised the Court not to review the decision of the Second Circuit in Madden. They concluded that this just isn’t the right case for the Court to resolve the important questions of whether and under what circumstances the National Bank Act preempts state usury laws for assignees of loans made by national banks.
Continue Reading Madden Update: Solicitor General Says the Second Circuit Got it Wrong—But that the Decision Should Still Stand for Now
The Wait Continues: CFPB Further Delays Prepaid Account Rule
According to the CFPB’s latest rulemaking agenda, the agency is pushing back to “this summer” release of the final rule on prepaid accounts. The release had previously been expected this May or June, after it was pushed back from a March expected release.
The Bureau issues the proposed role in November 2014. Generally, it
Treasury Department Issues Marketplace Lending Report, Outlines Possible Regulatory Path
Some segments of the marketplace lending business model (a subset of the growing FinTech industry sometimes referred to as peer-to-peer lending), might become subject to additional regulation if the federal and state regulatory agencies take to heart the results of a recent Treasury Department report.
Continue Reading Treasury Department Issues Marketplace Lending Report, Outlines Possible Regulatory Path
David Beam to Present at Blockchain Conference
Next Thursday, April 15, 2016, David Beam will present at the ACI Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Technology conference in New York City. David will participate on a panel titled “Consumer Protection on the Blockchain.”
FinCEN “Reiterates” the Importance of MSB Agent Monitoring
FinCEN itself says that there’s not much new in the guidance to money services businesses that the agency released last Friday (March 11, 2016) on agent monitoring (the Guidance).1 But MSBs that rely on agents should still review the Guidance carefully. The fact that FinCEN has decided to release this Guidance now shows that