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H4277 • 2025

An Act creating a maximum allowable check-cashing rate for check cashers

An Act creating a maximum allowable check-cashing rate for check cashers

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure (J)
Last action
2025-08-21
Official status
Referred to House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act creating a maximum allowable check-cashing rate for check cashers

An Act creating a maximum allowable check-cashing rate for check cashers Status: Referred to House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading

What This Bill Does

  • An Act creating a maximum allowable check-cashing rate for check cashers Status: Referred to House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-08-21 House

    Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting

  2. 2025-08-21 House

    Rules suspended

  3. 2025-08-21 House

    Read second and ordered to a third reading

  4. 2025-07-23 House

    Reported from the committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure

  5. 2025-07-23 House

    New draft of H400

  6. 2025-07-23 House

    Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling

Official Summary Text

An Act creating a maximum allowable check-cashing rate for check cashers
Status:
Referred to House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
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Bill H.4277

SECTION 1. Chapter 169A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 6, and inserting in place thereof of the following section:-

Section 6. (a) No licensee shall directly or indirectly charge or collect fees or other considerations for cashing checks payable to natural persons in excess of the following:

(1) 2.5 per cent of the face value of a check plus a service charge of $1.00 for any government check less than $1,500 issued by the United States or the commonwealth;

(2) 2.25 per cent of the face value of a payroll check plus a service charge of $1.00;

(3) 5 per cent of the face value of a check or $5.00, whichever is greater, plus a service charge of $1.00, for all personal checks; or

(4) 3 per cent of the face value of a payment instrument less than $1,500 plus a service charge of $1.00 for all other payment instruments, including checks, drafts, or money orders.

(b) No licensee shall charge more than $5.00 to set up an initial customer account.

(c) A schedule of fees and charges to be assessed for the cashing of checks, drafts or money orders shall be filed by each licensee with the commissioner annually on or before a date to be set by the commissioner and, together with any revisions thereto, shall be conspicuously posted in each place of business and mobile unit of a licensee. An amendment to such schedule occurring between filing dates or a change in the hours of operation, as specified in the application for license filed pursuant to section three, shall be filed, in writing, with the commissioner forthwith.

SECTION 2. Section 13 of said chapter 169A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the words “five hundred dollars” and inserting in place thereof the following:- $1,000.

SECTION 3. Section 1 shall take effect 12 months after the effective date of this act.

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