| (a) Does this section apply to me? This section applies
if you hold a money transmission or currency exchange license issued
by the department under Finance Code, Chapter 152.
(b) Definitions. Words used in this section that are
defined in Finance Code, Chapter 152, have the same meaning as defined
in the Finance Code. The following words and terms, when used in this
section, shall have the following meanings unless the text clearly
indicates otherwise.
(1) "Conspicuously posted" means displayed so that
a customer with 20/20 vision can read it from the place where he or
she would typically conduct business with you or, alternatively, on
a bulletin board, in plain view, on which you post notices to the
general public (such as equal housing posters, licenses, Community
Reinvestment Act notices, etc.).
(2) "Customer" means, as to money transmission or currency
exchange, any Texas resident to whom, either directly or through an
authorized delegate, you provide or have provided money transmission
or currency exchange products or services or for whom you conduct
or have conducted a money transmission or currency exchange transaction.
(3) "Privacy notice" means any notice regarding a person's
right to privacy that you are required to give under a specific state
or federal law.
(4) "Required notice" means the notice described in
subsection (d) of this section.
(c) Must I provide notice to customers about how to
file complaints? Yes. You must tell each of your customers how to
file a complaint concerning the money transmission or currency exchange
business you conduct under Finance Code, Chapter 151, in accordance
with this section.
(d) What must the notice say?
(1) You must use:
(A) a notice that conforms to the complaint notice
requirements of the Remittance Transfer Rule of Regulation E (12 C.F.R.
Part 1005, Subpart B), such as described by 12 C.F.R. §1005.31(b)(2)(vi),
if the Remittance Transfer Rule applies to you; or
(B) a notice that substantially conforms to the language
and form of the following notice: If you have a complaint, first contact
the consumer assistance division of (Name of License Holder) at (License
Holder consumer assistance telephone number), if you still have an
unresolved complaint regarding the company's (money transmission or
currency exchange) activity, please direct your complaint to: Texas
Department of Banking, 2601 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78705,
1-877-276-5554 (toll free), www.dob.texas.gov.
(2) You must provide the required notice in the language
in which the transaction is conducted.
(e) How and where must I provide the required notice?
(1) If a state or federal law requires you to send
a privacy notice to your customers, you must include the required
notice with each privacy notice.
(2) If you maintain a website by which a customer may
remit money for transmission or obtain information about the customer's
transaction or an existing account, you must include the required
notice on your website. The notice must be prominently displayed on
the initial page the customer uses to initiate the remittance, transaction
or access the information, or on a page available no more than one
link from the initial page. The link must clearly describe the information
available by clicking the link, e.g., "Texas customers click here
for information about filing complaints about our money transmission
or currency exchange product or service."
(3) In addition to including the required notice in
a privacy notice in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection
and on your website in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection,
you must tell customers how to file complaints by one or more of the
following methods:
(A) You may include the required notice in at least
8 point type, on each payment instrument or other access device or
receipt used in connection with your money transmission or currency
exchange business, provided that:
(i) the payment instrument or other access device constitutes
the only means of accessing the money received for transmission; or
(ii) you issue a receipt for every money transmission
or currency exchange transaction you conduct.
(B) If you personally receive all the funds paid by
your customers, you may conspicuously post the required notice where
you conduct money transmission or currency exchange activities with
customers on a face to face basis.
(C) You may provide each customer with the required
notice separately, provided that:
(i) not later than the time the transaction is conducted,
you deliver the required notice in a form that your customer can retain;
or
(ii) if you use an access device, such as a stored
value card, in your money services business and mail the device to
your customer, you include the required notice in the mailing; and
(iii) if the same access device may be used continuously,
such as a reloadable stored value card, you also deliver the required
notice to your customer at least once every twelve months. You may
include the required notice with a privacy statement, with or on another
statement, or by another means so long as the customer actually receives
the notice within each twelve-month period.
(4) If your business is entirely internet based, so
that account relationships and transactions are initiated solely by
means of the internet, the additional disclosures described in paragraph
(3) of this subsection are not required.
(f) How do I provide the required notice if I conduct
business through authorized delegates?
(1) If you conduct business through one or more authorized
delegates, each authorized delegate must provide the required notice
by one or more of the methods described in subsection (e)(3) of this
section. You must specify the method or methods to be used by your
authorized delegate and provide your authorized delegate with the
means by which to give the notice you select.
(2) If your authorized delegate personally receives
all funds paid by your customers and you require your authorized delegate
to post the required notice described in subsection (e)(3)(B) of this
section, you may use one posted notice to provide the required notice
and the authorized delegate designation required under §33.52
of this title.
(g) Am I subject to an enforcement action if I do not
provide the required notice? Yes. You are subject to enforcement sanctions
under Finance Code, Chapter 152, Subchapter I, if you:
(1) fail to provide the required notice in accordance
with this section; or
(2) fail to specify the method and provide the means
by which your authorized delegate must give the required notice in
accordance with subsection (f)(1) of this section.
(h) Is my authorized delegate subject to an enforcement
action if the delegate does not provide the required notice? Yes,
if you have complied with subsection (f)(1) of this section. If you
have specified the method and provided the means by which your authorized
delegate must give the required notice, your authorized delegate is
subject to enforcement sanctions if the delegate fails to provide
the required notice as directed.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §33.51 adopted to be effective May 18, 2006, 31 TexReg 3869; amended to be effective July 8, 2010, 35 TexReg 5805; amended to be effective November 4, 2010, 35 TexReg 9698; amended to be effective March 7, 2013, 38 TexReg 1357; amended to be effective January 4, 2018, 42 TexReg 7581; amended to be effective July 5, 2018, 43 TexReg 4452; amended to be effective November 7, 2019, 44 TexReg 6522; amended to be effective May 12, 2022, 47 TexReg 2735; amended to be effective November 16, 2023, 48 TexReg 6584 |
