Bill > SB152

This bill updates Alaska's laws governing money services businesses, which are entities that transmit value that substitutes for money, such as money transmission and currency exchange services. Key provisions include requiring these businesses to register and obtain licenses through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS), a national database for financial services licensing. The bill also strengthens surety bonding requirements, which are financial guarantees to protect consumers, and clarifies rules for record retention, reporting, and enforcement. It introduces new definitions for terms like "virtual currency" and "virtual currency business activity" to address emerging financial technologies, and expands the scope of activities regulated to include those conducted online. Additionally, the bill allows certain licensees to contract with subdelegates for reloading stored-value cards and clarifies the responsibilities of money services licensees for the actions of their authorized delegates. It also introduces new exemptions and clarifies existing ones, and sets an effective date of July 1, 2016, with an immediate effect for regulatory provisions.