Iowa Requires Money-Transmission Licenses for Crypto ATMs

Governor Kim Reynolds signed SF2296 on May 6, 2026, making money-transmission licensure a requirement for anyone who owns, operates, markets or facilitates crypto ATMs in Iowa. The law places digital financial kiosks under the state’s money-transmission framework and took effect on enactment.

Operators must register each kiosk site with the Iowa Division of Banking and notify the division within 30 calendar days of any change. The Division is required to publish the list of kiosk locations online.

The statute requires businesses to disclose the dollar amount of all charges collected in a transaction and replaces certain exchange-price references with the prevailing market value of the asset at the time of the transaction.

Enforcement authority is assigned to the Iowa Attorney General’s office when there is a reasonable belief a violation has occurred. The office may seek injunctions, compel compliance and pursue civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation related to digital financial asset kiosks. The law authorizes penalties up to $100,000 for parties that violate injunctions tied to kiosk enforcement actions. The statute applies to civil actions commenced on or after the enactment date.

The licensing measure follows SF449, signed May 19, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, which set transaction limits, refund rules, fee caps, fraud warnings, customer support obligations and receipt requirements for crypto ATMs. Under SF449, machines may not be used to transfer or receive more than $1,000 per calendar day, and new customers are limited to $10,000 in aggregate transactions during their first 30 days with a given operator. The earlier law requires operators to issue refunds when users are fraudulently induced into transactions if victims report the fraud within 90 days and provide required documentation.

Attorney General Brenna Bird praised the legislation, saying, “Finally, we continue to fight to protect Iowans from the scammers who prey on them through crypto ATMs.”

During debate on the 2025 bill, Representative Shannon Lundgren cited an Attorney General investigation that estimated Iowans lost about $20 million to crypto ATM scams over the previous three years.

The statute classifies violations tied to digital financial asset kiosks as unlawful practices under Iowa consumer protection law, expanding the state’s civil remedies and aligning kiosk licensing and reporting standards with those applied to other money-transmission services.