Section 399-G:5 License Application; Requirements; Investigation.
I. To be considered for licensing, each person shall complete and file with the department one verified application prescribed by the commissioner. At a minimum, the application shall state the primary business address of the applicant, the applicant's tax identification number, the address of its principal office and all authorized delegates located or to be located within the state, a copy of its FinCEN Form 107 Registration of Money Services Business filing, and a list of the principals of the applicant. Each principal shall provide their social security number and shall authorize the commissioner to conduct a background check. The applicant shall submit any other information that the commissioner may require including, but not limited to, the applicant's form and place of organization, the applicant's proposed method of doing business, the qualifications and business history of the applicant and those persons listed in the application, and the applicant's financial condition and history. The applicant shall disclose whether the applicant or any of its principals has ever been issued or been the subject of an injunction or administrative order, has ever been convicted of a misdemeanor involving the financial services industry or any aspect of the financial services business, or has ever been convicted of any felony.
II. (a) The license issued for the licensee's principal place of business shall be referred to as a ""principal office license.'' Each additional authorization to conduct business issued for money transmission occurring in a location in this state that is separate from the licensee's principal place of business shall be referred to as an ""authorized delegate registration.'' If the applicant desires to transmit money in more than one location, the commissioner, upon favorable action on the applicant's principal office license, shall issue an ""authorized delegate registration'' for each location where the business of money transmission is to be conducted.
(b) Each license application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of $500 for each principal office and $25 for each authorized delegate registration, up to a maximum annual fee of $5,000. Sums collected under this chapter shall be payable to the state treasurer as restricted revenue and credited to the appropriation for the commissioner, consumer credit administration division.
(c) Each applicant shall submit detailed financial information sufficient for the commissioner to determine the applicant's ability to conduct the business of a money transmitter with financial integrity. The application shall include a statement of net worth in all cases and an applicant shall demonstrate and maintain a positive net worth computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A licensee shall at all times maintain a net worth of the lesser of its average daily outstanding money transmissions for the prior calendar year or $1,000,000. Net worth statements provided in connection with a license application under this section shall be subject to review and verification during the course of any examination or investigation conducted under the authority of RSA 399-G:13. Each money transmitter applicant shall post a continuous surety bond in the amount of $100,000. The surety bond shall be payable to the state of New Hampshire and the bank commissioner of the state of New Hampshire for the benefit of any person who is damaged by any violation of this chapter and shall be conditioned upon the licensee's compliance with each provision of this chapter. Surety bonds shall include a provision requiring the surety to give written notice to the commissioner 20 days in advance of the cancellation or termination of the bond. Every bond shall provide that no recovery may be made against the bond unless the state makes a claim for recovery or the person brings suit naming the principal within 6 years after the act upon which the recovery or suit is based. The obligations of the surety shall survive the bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, or reorganization of the licensee, including, without limitation, any bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, or reorganization commenced by or against the licensee under any applicable state or federal law, including the United States Bankruptcy Code.
(d) Unless the applicant is a publicly traded corporation, the department shall complete a background investigation and criminal history records check on the applicant's principals and any person in a similar position or performing similar functions. If the applicant is a subsidiary, the department shall complete a background investigation and criminal history records check on individuals who are indirect owners.
(e) The persons described in subparagraph (d) shall submit to the department a notarized criminal history records release form, as provided by the New Hampshire division of state police, which authorizes the release of the person's criminal records, if any. The person shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the banking department. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, a second set of fingerprints is necessary in order to complete the criminal history records check. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the department may, in lieu of the criminal history records check, accept police clearances from every city, town, or county where the person has lived during the past 5 years.
(f) The department shall submit the criminal history records release form to the New Hampshire division of state police, which shall conduct a criminal history records check through its records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Upon completion of the background investigation, the division of state police shall release copies of the criminal conviction records to the department. The department shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this paragraph.
(g) The department may require the applicant or licensee to pay the actual costs of each background investigation and criminal history records check.
(h) The department may rely on criminal records checks reported through a national licensing facility in lieu of (e) and (f) above.
III. Every applicant for licensing under this chapter shall file with the commissioner, in such form as the commissioner prescribes by rule, irrevocable consent appointing the commissioner to receive service of any lawful process in any non-criminal suit, action, or proceeding against the applicant or the applicant's successor, executor, or administrator which arises under this chapter or any rule or order under this chapter after the consent has been filed, with the same force and validity as if served personally on the person filing the consent. A person who has filed such a consent in connection with a previous application need not file another. Any other person who engages in conduct regulated by this chapter shall be deemed to have appointed the commissioner as its agent. Service may be made by leaving a copy of the process in the office of the commissioner along with $5, but is not effective unless:
(a) The plaintiff, who may be the attorney general in a suit, action, or proceeding instituted by him or her, forthwith sends a notice of the service and a copy of the process by registered mail to the defendant or respondent at such person's last address on file with the commissioner; and
(b) The plaintiff's affidavit of compliance with this paragraph is filed in the case on or before the return day of the process, if any, or within such further time as the court allows.
IV. Upon the applicant's filing of the complete application and payment of the required fee, the commissioner shall have, in accordance with RSA 541-A:29, up to 120 days to investigate and determine whether the applicant's financial resources, experience, personnel, and record of past or proposed conduct warrant the public's confidence and the issuance of a license.
V. The commissioner may license or register individuals or firms by means of or through the facilities of a national organization which facilitates registration and licensing on a nationwide basis.
Source. 2006, 303:35, eff. Aug. 18, 2006. 2008, 205:52, eff. Aug. 15, 2008; 372:3, eff. Jan. 1, 2009. 2009, 204:8, eff. Sept. 13, 2009.