SB 1325 Summary

• Adds three new definitions to money transmitter law: "money" (authorized or adopted by U.S. or foreign government), "receiving money for transmission" (receiving monetary value in Hawaii for transmission), and "tangible net worth" (aggregate assets excluding intangible assets, less liabilities).

• Expands "electronic instrument" definition to include electronic or mobile wallets; broadens "money transmission" to include selling/issuing stored value to persons in Hawaii and receiving money from persons in Hawaii.

• Increases minimum tangible net worth requirement from $1,000 to the greater of $100,000 or a tiered percentage of tangible assets (3% for first $100M, 2% for $100M-$1B, 0.5% for over $1B); increases initial surety bond from $10,000 to $100,000.

• Adds nine new exemptions from licensing requirements, including payment system operators, agents collecting payments for goods/services, intermediaries processing payments, employees of licensees, and board of trade operators.

• Clarifies permissible investments and statutory trust provisions to protect money transmission obligations holders in cases of insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership; allows commissioner to authorize additional investment types.