AB 1507 amends Financial Code section 2105 to change the mandatory consumer‑notice that money transmission licensees and their agents must post at branch locations. The revised notice specifies a toll‑free DFPI phone number, an email address, and a mailing address for the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and preserves the commissioner's authority to modify the notice and to allow alternative website/app notices.
The bill also repeals section 23057, removing an obsolete statutory reporting requirement tied to the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law. For licensees and agents, the immediate implications are operational: update in‑branch signage, confirm language and size compliance, train staff and agents, and review online disclosures to match the new statutory baseline.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill replaces the content of the in‑branch consumer complaint notice for money transmitters to include a DFPI toll‑free number (1‑866‑275‑2677), an email (consumer.services@dfpi.ca.gov), and a DFPI mailing address. It keeps requirements on language, minimum type size, conspicuous posting, and allows the commissioner to authorize alternate online notices.
Who It Affects
State‑licensed money transmission companies, their branch agents (including agent‑operated locations), compliance and operations teams responsible for signage and customer disclosures, and the DFPI's Consumer Services unit that will receive routed complaints.
Why It Matters
This is a practical compliance change, not a policy overhaul: it modernizes how consumers contact the regulator and clarifies posting responsibilities, while removing a dated reporting mandate—reducing statutory clutter but imposing immediate administrative updates for licensees and agents.
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What This Bill Actually Does
AB 1507 rewrites the required consumer notice that money transmission licensees and their agents must display at branch locations. The new statutory text names a specific toll‑free phone number, a DFPI consumer email, and a DFPI mailing address as the official contact channels for complaints about money transmission activity at the location.
The law keeps the preexisting formatting requirements—clear, legible text of at least one‑half inch in height—and requires the notice to be printed in English and the principal language the licensee or agent uses to advertise or solicit business.
The bill preserves two operational features that affect compliance: first, the commissioner retains authority to change the phraseology or content of the notice by order or regulation; second, for non‑branch money transmission conducted via websites or mobile apps, the commissioner may authorize an alternative form of the notice. AB 1507 also clarifies allocation of responsibility: licensees must provide the notice to their agents, but in agent‑operated locations the agent, not the licensee, is responsible for posting the notice correctly.Separately, AB 1507 repeals section 23057 of the Financial Code, which required a report on implementation of the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law to the Governor and Legislature with a December 1, 2007 deadline.
That provision was time‑bound and is now removed as housekeeping; the repeal does not create new reporting obligations but clears an obsolete statutory clause. Practically, the repeal reduces statutory clutter and avoids confusion about an outdated compliance item.For operations and compliance teams the actionable steps are straightforward: inventory branch signage and agent locations, update printed notices to the exact required contact information and type size, confirm translations where the licensee principally uses another language, train agents on posting responsibility, and coordinate with legal or the commissioner’s office if the licensee uses online/mobile transmission to determine the acceptable alternative notice format.
Finally, compliance officers should track any forthcoming DFPI orders or regulations that further refine notice content or authorize standard online alternatives.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill requires the in‑branch consumer notice to list DFPI Consumer Services with a toll‑free number 1‑866‑275‑2677, email consumer.services@dfpi.ca.gov, and a mailing address at 651 Bannon Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA 95811.
The notice must be printed in English and in the same language principally used by the licensee or agent to advertise or solicit, be clear and legible, and use letters at least one‑half inch in height.
Licensees must provide the notice to each of their agents, but agents operating a location are responsible for failing to post the notice properly in those locations.
The commissioner may modify the notice content by order or regulation and may authorize an alternative notice for internet or mobile app money‑transmission activity.
AB 1507 repeals Financial Code section 23057, removing a December 1, 2007 reporting requirement related to the Deferred Deposit Transaction Law (an obsolete statutory reporting mandate).
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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New mandatory contact information for the in‑branch consumer notice
This subdivision replaces the content of the consumer complaint notice to name specific DFPI contact channels: a toll‑free telephone number, an email address, and a mailing address. That change centralizes consumer complaints to DFPI's Consumer Services and removes any ambiguity about where in‑branch complaints should be directed. Practically, licensees must replicate the statutory language in their posted notices to meet the requirement.
Formatting, language, posting location, and agent responsibility
Subdivision (b) keeps and reinforces prior operational requirements: the commissioner can change notice content; notices must be printed in English and in the principal language used for solicitation; text must be legible and not smaller than one‑half inch; and notices must be conspicuously posted in unobstructed public view. It also confirms the split of responsibilities—licensees supply agents with the notice, but agents operating locations bear responsibility for proper posting—creating a predictable allocation of compliance liability between licensees and their agents.
Alternative notice for internet and mobile channels
Subdivision (c) authorizes the commissioner to permit an alternative form of the statutory notice when money transmission occurs over websites or mobile applications rather than in a physical branch. This gives the regulator discretion to set an electronic equivalent to in‑branch signage, but the bill does not specify format, placement, or minimum visibility standards for the online alternative—those details rest with the commissioner.
Removal of an obsolete Deferred Deposit Transaction Law reporting requirement
The bill deletes section 23057, which had required a December 1, 2007 report to the Governor and Legislature on implementation of the Deferred Deposit Transaction Law. The repeal is housekeeping: it eliminates a time‑expired reporting obligation and prevents confusion over a long‑past deadline, without imposing new reporting or oversight duties.
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Explore Finance in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Consumers who use branch money‑transmission services—because the notice now specifies a clear, centralized DFPI phone, email, and mailing address to lodge complaints, reducing uncertainty about where to escalate problems.
- DFPI Consumer Services—the agency gains a consistent statutory routing for complaints, which should streamline intake and tracking of consumer issues from money‑transmission branches.
- Licensees with organized compliance programs—those that can update signage and agent practices quickly will reduce regulatory risk and benefit from clearer statutory expectations about notice content.
Who Bears the Cost
- Money transmission licensees—costs include replacing or reprinting in‑branch signage, revising agent onboarding materials, and allocating staff time to ensure notices meet the new content, size, and language rules.
- Agents operating branch locations—agents bear liability for improper posting at agent‑operated locations and must implement processes to ensure continued compliance, which can be burdensome for small, independent agents.
- DFPI—while the law centralizes complaints, the department may see an increase in direct contacts to Consumer Services and must absorb triage and case management workload unless it reallocates resources.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill balances two legitimate goals—making it easier for consumers to reach a single regulator contact point and keeping statutory requirements up to date—against the practical burdens of hardcoded contact information and shifting operational costs onto licensees and agents; the same clarity that helps consumers can create maintenance and liability headaches for regulated firms and the regulator.
Although AB 1507 modernizes consumer contact channels, it hardcodes a phone number, email, and street address into statute. That creates a maintenance issue: if DFPI later changes phone numbers, emails, or office locations, regulators must use their order/regulation authority or the Legislature must amend the statute to avoid statutory obsolescence.
The bill partially anticipates this by preserving commissioner authority to modify notice content, but it does not specify an expedited process for such changes.
Several implementation ambiguities remain. The statute requires notices to be in "the same language principally used" to advertise or solicit business, but it does not define how to determine the principal language in multilingual markets or franchise/agent networks.
The online/mobile alternative is left to the commissioner's discretion without baseline standards for visibility or accessibility, leaving licensees uncertain about how to mirror the in‑branch half‑inch type standard electronically. Finally, the agent‑responsibility rule reduces enforcement uncertainty but could prompt disputes: licensees must provide notices to agents yet can still be implicated if an agent fails to post; resolving cross‑entity enforcement and indemnity claims will require careful vendor/agent contract drafting.
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