Title 19
Financial Institutions

Chapter 14.3
Currency Transmissions

R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-14.3-3.5

§ 19-14.3-3.5. Required disclosures for virtual currency.

(a) A licensee engaging in virtual currency business activities shall provide to a resident who uses the licensee’s virtual currency products or service the disclosures required by subsection (b) of this section and any additional disclosure the department by rule determines reasonably necessary for the protection of residents. The department may determine by rule any additional disclosures and/or the time and form required for disclosure. A disclosure required by this section must be made separately from any other information provided by the licensee and in a clear and conspicuous manner in a record the resident may keep. A licensee may propose for the department’s approval alternate disclosures as more appropriate for its virtual currency business activity with or on behalf of residents.

(b) Before establishing a relationship with a resident, a licensee shall disclose, to the extent applicable to the virtual currency business activity the licensee will undertake with the resident:

(1) A schedule of fees and charges the licensee may assess, the manner by which fees and charges will be calculated if they are not set in advance and disclosed, and the timing of the fees and charges;

(2) Whether the product or service provided by the licensee is covered by:

(i) A form of insurance or is otherwise guaranteed against loss by an agency of the United States:

(A) Up to the full U.S. Dollar equivalent of virtual currency placed under the control of or purchased from the licensee as of the date of the placement or purchase, including the maximum amount provided by insurance under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or otherwise available from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; or

(B) If not provided at the full U.S. Dollar equivalent of virtual currency placed under the control of or purchased from the licensee, the maximum amount of coverage for each resident expressed in the U.S. Dollar equivalent of the virtual currency; or

(ii) Private insurance against theft or loss, including cyber theft or theft by other means;

(3) The irrevocability of a transfer or exchange and any exception to irrevocability;

(4) A description of:

(i) Liability for an unauthorized, mistaken, or accidental transfer or exchange;

(ii) The resident’s responsibility to provide notice to the licensee of the transfer or exchange;

(iii) The basis for any recovery by the resident from the licensee;

(iv) General error-resolution rights applicable to the transfer or exchange; and

(v) The method for the resident to update the resident’s contact information with the licensee;

(5) That the date or time when the transfer or exchange is made and the resident’s account is debited may differ from the date or time when the resident initiates the instruction to make the transfer or exchange;

(6) Whether the resident has a right to stop a pre-authorized payment or revoke authorization for a transfer and the procedure to initiate a stop-payment order or revoke authorization for a subsequent transfer;

(7) The resident’s right to receive a receipt, trade ticket, or other evidence of the transfer or exchange;

(8) The resident’s right to at least thirty (30) days’ prior notice of a change in the licensee’s fee schedule, other terms and conditions of operating its virtual currency business activity with the resident and the policies applicable to the resident’s account; and

(9) That virtual currency is not legal tender.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d), at the conclusion of a virtual currency transaction with or on behalf of a resident, a licensee shall provide the resident a confirmation in a record that contains:

(1) The name and contact information of the licensee, including information the resident may need to ask a question or file a complaint;

(2) The type, value, date, precise time, and amount of the transaction; and

(3) The fee charged for the transaction, including any charge for conversion of virtual currency to legal tender, bank credit, or other virtual currency.

(d) If a licensee discloses that it will provide a daily confirmation in the initial disclosure under subsection (c) of this section, the licensee may elect to provide a single, daily confirmation for all transactions with or on behalf of a resident on that day instead of a per-transaction confirmation.

History of Section.
P.L. 2019, ch. 226, § 4; P.L. 2019, ch. 246, § 4.