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Georgia House passes bill giving banks limited power to hold suspicious transactions, adds rules for crypto ATMs
Summary
The House passed House Bill 945, a banking and finance update that lets trained financial institutions place a temporary hold on suspicious transactions (limited to the transaction) for up to 15 days, sets fee and limit rules for crypto kiosks, and increases oversight of litigation financiers. The bill passed 161-5.
Representative Williamson presented House Bill 945, the Department of Banking and Finance's annual housekeeping measure, and told members it includes three new consumer-protection features: a temporary hold on suspicious transactions to help protect elderly and disabled account holders; disclosure, fee‑cap and refund rules for virtual currency kiosks (crypto ATMs); and annual registration and stronger oversight of litigation financiers.
"When we suspect an elderly disabled adult is being financially exploited, we know the problem we have in this country right now," Williamson said, describing the temporary-hold provision. He said the hold would apply only to the suspicious transaction, not the customer's other funds, and could last up to 15 days while the institution investigates and contacts a named trusted contact.
Members questioned the scope and mechanics. Representative Lynn Smith asked whether the bill would have stopped a recent Ponzi scheme in her district; Williamson said it would not, because securities fraud falls to the Secretary of State's securities division, and that HB 945 targets depository-transaction risks. Representative Holcomb pressed whether liability protections apply only for institutions that opt into the required training and internal policies; Williamson said protections attach to institutions that opt in and comply with the training and procedures laid out in the bill.
On crypto kiosks, Williamson said the bill requires fraud warnings, full fee and pricing disclosures, receipts, daily transaction limits (he cited $2,500 for new customers and $10,000 for existing customers), and refund rights if fraud is reported within five days. "These machine operators are collecting up to 30% fee right now," Williamson said; the bill sets an 18% cap and the sponsor argued the cap accounts for new refund exposure.
Supporters described the bill as a "first step" to give banks tools to stop scams before money leaves an account. Representative Sandra Scott gave a personal account of recognizing an online scam and credited bank staff who froze her account, urging passage.
The House adopted the committee substitute without objection, agreed to the committee's favorable report, and passed House Bill 945 by recorded vote: yeas 161, nays 5. The bill now moves to the Senate for further consideration.
