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Title: Becoming licensed as a money transmitter Post by: krypton1 on January 24, 2011, 03:20:13 AM After reading this thread about how using bitcoin is legal/illegal
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=227.0 I started wondering about some of the service providers coming up around bitcoin and who could be affected by money transmitter licensing rules. (Individuals using bitcoin don't seem to be affected by this, so I'm thinking of service providers here - specifically those who may want to incorporate or reside in the U.S.) Apparently Paypal had to become licensed as a money transmitter. This page has some more info: http://www.goodwinprocter.com/~/media/Files/Publications/Attorney%20Articles/2003/Risky_Business_State_Regulation_of_Money_Transmitters.ashx My question is if you became licensed as a money transmitter in a bunch of states, what are the implications of this? - Do you pay a transaction fee to the state now? - Are you required to report identity of the sender/receiver to the state? This sort of thing could become more important as BitCoin attempts to enter the mainstream, or be offered as a payment alternative at retail shops, etc. Title: Re: Becoming licensed as a money transmitter Post by: Anonymous on January 24, 2011, 03:41:24 AM Quote - Are you required to report identity of the sender/receiver to the state? Short answer is yes - if you are registered.... Title: Re: Becoming licensed as a money transmitter Post by: krypton1 on January 24, 2011, 03:55:58 AM This is what I thought too, but how does Western Union do it?
From what I've read people can pickup money from Western Union without an ID using the money transfer number: http://www.bustathief.com/western-union-moneygram-popular-scammer-payment-options/ This is what makes it attractive for scams (and I guess also if you lose your wallet in a foreign country). Maybe they require ID to send money, but not to receive it? They are licensed as a money transmitter. Title: Re: Becoming licensed as a money transmitter Post by: FreeMoney on January 24, 2011, 03:57:41 AM I know there is a strong expectation that government regulate banking, but the whole point of Bitcoin is that two consenting people can transact together without permission approval or taxation. If you start a business that effectively does nothing but break privacy and pass a tax along to your customers as a fee I do't see a bright future for you.
If Bitcoin becomes mainstream it will be because people don't want business as usual, not because they want everything to stay the same, but the name. We already have a process for name only change, it's called an election. |