§489D-20 Money transmitter receipts and refunds. (a) Each licensee who receives money or monetary value for transmission and the licensee's authorized delegates shall transmit the monetary equivalent of all money or equivalent value received from a customer for transmission, net of any fees, or issue instructions committing the money or its monetary equivalent, to the person designated by the customer within ten business days after receiving the money or equivalent value, unless otherwise ordered by the customer or unless the licensee or its authorized delegate has reason to believe that a crime has occurred, is occurring, or may occur as a result of transmitting the money.

(b) Each licensee who receives money or monetary value for transmission and the licensee's authorized delegates shall provide a receipt to the customer that clearly states the amount of money or equivalent value presented for transmission and the total of the fees charged by the licensee. If the rate of exchange for a money transmission to be paid in the currency of another country is fixed by the licensee for that transaction at the time the money transmission is initiated, the receipt provided to the customer shall disclose the rate of exchange for that transaction, and the duration, if any, for the payment to be made at that fixed rate of exchange. If the rate of exchange for a money transmission to be paid in the currency of another country is not fixed at the time the money transmission is sent, the receipt provided to the customer shall disclose that the rate of exchange for that transaction will be set at the time the recipient of the money transmission picks up the funds in the foreign country.

(c) For purposes of this section:

(1) Money is considered to have been transmitted when it is available to the person designated by the customer, whether or not the designated person has taken possession of the money;

(2) "Monetary equivalent", when used in connection with a money transmission in which the customer provides the licensee or its authorized delegate with the money of one government, and the designated recipient is to receive the money of another government, means the amount of money, in the currency of the government that the designated recipient is to receive, as converted at the retail exchange rate offered by the licensee or its authorized delegate to the customer in connection with the transaction; and

(3) "Fees" do not include revenue that a licensee or its authorized delegate generates, in connection with a money transmission, in converting the money of one government into the money of another government.

(d) Each licensee who receives money or monetary value for a money transmission and the licensee's authorized delegates shall refund to a customer all moneys received for transmittal within ten days of receipt of a written request for a refund unless any of the following occurs:

(1) The moneys have been transmitted and delivered to the person designated by the customer prior to receipt of the written request for a refund;

(2) Instructions have been given committing an equivalent amount of money to the person designated by the customer prior to receipt of a written request for a refund;

(3) The licensee or its authorized delegate has reason to believe that a crime has occurred, is occurring, or may occur as a result of transmitting the money as requested by the customer or refunding the money as requested by the customer; or

(4) The licensee is otherwise barred by law from making a refund. [L 2006, c 153, pt of §1]