The Wisconsin Money Transmitter License guide (Faisal Khan LLC, July 2026) opens with a warning: Wisconsin's licensing law was completely replaced, and most published guidance still describes the repealed statute.
2023 Wisconsin Act 267 repealed Chapter 217's old "Seller of Checks" law in full and substituted Wisconsin's version of the Money Transmission Modernization Act, effective 1 January 2025. Citations such as §§ 217.061 and 217.073 are dead, and the DFI's own fee web page still lists the repealed $800 application fee rather than the current $1,000.
The guide's most useful catch: Wisconsin is not a perpetual-license state. The license expires 31 December every year, with a volume-scaled renewal fee from $500 to $4,000. It also corrects a widely-assumed 60-day decision clock — there is no statutory deadline or deemed approval; the only 60-day clock runs against the applicant, and an uncured incomplete application is deemed abandoned with the $1,000 fee forfeited.
On crypto, Wisconsin did not adopt the MTMA's virtual currency module, so a fiat leg generally triggers licensure, and the DFI will not issue safe-harbor letters. 2025 Wisconsin Act 226 newly requires virtual currency kiosk operators to be licensed, including crypto-for-crypto trades, with a $1,000/customer/day cap and mandatory fraud refunds.
What the guide covers:
- The bond formula: greater of $100,000 or 100% of average daily liability, capped at $500,000
- Tangible net worth requirements under § 217.02(28), GAAP, intangibles excluded
- Permissible investments held in trust under § 217.10(3)
- Quarterly call reports, authorized delegate reports and event-reporting deadlines
- The closed exemption list under § 217.03(1) and the $2,000 federal SAR threshold
Useful for anyone budgeting or timing a Wisconsin filing against outdated guidance.