Committee holds public hearing on bill to regulate virtual-currency kiosks, including $1,000 daily limit and fee cap

The Consumer Protection & Business Committee held a public hearing March 25 on Senate Bill 5,280, a proposal to add licensing, location reporting, transaction limits and disclosure requirements for virtual-currency kiosks operating under the Uniform Money Services Act.

The bill would define a ‘‘virtual currency kiosk’’ as ‘‘an electronic terminal that facilitates the exchange of virtual currency for money or other virtual currency,’’ require kiosk operators to report branch locations and authorized delegates to the statewide licensing system at least 30 days before business begins, and bar a kiosk from accepting, dispensing or transmitting more than $1,000 per day to or from a customer. It also would cap aggregate fees per transaction at the greater of $5 or 5% of the U.S. dollar equivalent, require pre-transaction disclosures about the licensee and fraud risk, and require a detailed receipt that includes the customer’s name, transaction amount, fees, exchange rate and any price difference from prevailing market rates.

Why it matters: Department of Financial Institutions staff and local law enforcement told the committee the kiosks have been used in fraud schemes that particularly…