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Have a question? +1 815-826-6324 (815-8-BondAI) phil@AmericasSuretyBonds.com
Army Veteran Owned | Expert Surety Bonds Since 2004
Rhode Island did not tie this bond to transmission volume. It is $50,000 for each currency transmission licensee, however many locations or authorized delegates the company runs. A surety bond lets you meet that requirement for an annual premium instead of pledging $50,000 in cash, and it is filed electronically through NMLS.
Anyone licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation to engage in currency transmission must file a $50,000 surety bond under R.I. Gen. Laws 19-14-6. The figure is flat. It does not rise with volume, locations or authorized delegates. A transmitter that can show a surety bond is not generally available in Rhode Island at a commercially reasonable cost may ask the Department to accept another form of security.
We can help with all Rhode Island bonds!
Many states now size money transmitter bonds by transaction volume. Rhode Island has not done that. In 2024 the General Assembly added tangible net worth and permissible investment rules to the currency transmission law (P.L. 2024, ch. 316 and ch. 317), but the bond in R.I. Gen. Laws 19-14-6(b) stayed at a single figure: $50,000 for each currency transmission licensee. If a licensee shows that a surety bond is not generally available in the state at a commercially reasonable cost, the Department may accept an alternative form of security.
Under 19-14-2, no one may engage in the business of currency transmission in Rhode Island without a license unless exempt under 19-14.3-1. A person is engaged in currency transmission in Rhode Island when it enters into a transaction with a person physically located in or resident in the state when the transaction starts. That covers selling or issuing payment instruments and receiving money or monetary value for transmission. Virtual currency kiosk operators must also be licensed as money transmitters under 19-14.3-3.9.
Section 19-14.3-1 lists the exemptions. They include qualifying banks, credit unions and regulated institutions, employees acting for a licensee, agents or authorized delegates appointed by a licensee, government agencies, companies limited to processing, clearing or settlement within a payment system, and attorneys and title insurance companies providing escrow services. The section also exempts several kinds of virtual currency activity, and the Department may exempt other persons or classes.
Section 19-14.3-3.3 gives anyone who delivered money to be forwarded to a foreign correspondent a cause of action on the bond for losses from defalcation, embezzlement, negligence, breach of contract or violation of any duty under Title 19. The suit must be brought within six years after the cause of action accrues. The bond itself runs to the state for the use of the state and of any person with a cause of action against the licensee.
Section 19-14-5 requires tangible net worth of at least the greater of $100,000 or a percentage of total assets. Section 19-14.3-2.1 requires permissible investments with a market value of not less than all outstanding money transmission obligations. The annual license fee under 19-14-4 is $1,000, due by December 31.
The premium is set by the surety, not the state. Underwriters look at the owners' credit, the company's financial statements and its compliance history. Confirm the current bond form and filing steps with the Division of Banking before the bond is issued.
No. R.I. Gen. Laws 19-14-6(b) sets $50,000 for each currency transmission licensee. Volume, locations and authorized delegates do not change it.
Only in a narrow case. If you show the Department that a surety bond is not generally available in Rhode Island at a commercially reasonable cost, it may accept an alternative form of security.
Agents or authorized delegates that a licensee designates or appoints are exempt from licensing under 19-14.3-1, so the bond is posted by the licensee.
The bond runs to the state for its own use and for any person with a cause of action against the licensee. Section 19-14.3-3.3 lets a customer who gave money to be forwarded abroad sue on the bond for losses from embezzlement, negligence, breach of contract and similar failures, within six years.
There is no state rate. The surety sets the annual premium after reviewing the owners' credit, the company's financial statements and its compliance history.
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