The Louisiana Money Transmitter License guide from Faisal Khan LLC covers a statute that changed three weeks before publication: Act 888 (HB 1230), signed 9 June 2026, repealed the six-decade-old Sale of Checks and Money Transmission Act and replaced it with the Louisiana Money Transmission Act, R.S. 6:1031–1072, effective 1 July 2026. The guide warns plainly — anything still referencing "Sale of Checks" is out of date.
Louisiana is one of a small number of states running two separate licenses: a money transmitter license through the Office of Financial Institutions (OFI), and a genuinely distinct virtual currency license under the Virtual Currency Businesses Act, mandatory since 1 July 2023. The cost gap is large: money transmitter application is $1,500 against $5,000 plus $750 registration for virtual currency, with the virtual currency bond scalable to $7,000,000. The guide flags that this gap is "often understated."
Renewal carries a hard cliff: the license expires 31 December, a late fee applies through 1 March, and missing that date means the license expires without hearing and cannot be reinstated — the firm must reapply as a new applicant and first pay any unlicensed-activity penalties.
What the guide covers:
- The Act 888 transition rules and what changes at renewal versus 1 July 2027
- Bond formula under R.S. 6:1060 and the tangible net worth scale under R.S. 6:1059
- The dual-licensing structure and full cost comparison between the two regimes
- Kiosk regulation under Act 369 of 2025, including transaction limits and hold periods
- Three exemptions Louisiana does not grant, including attorneys and title companies
- Examination fees, agent trust rules, and the 45/90-day reporting calendar