On January 13, the California DFPI entered a consent order with a digital financial asset kiosk operator to stop accepting transactions greater than $1,000 from a customer with the same name in a single day (in violation of Section 3902 of the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL)), and to stop charging fees in excess of statutory limits (Section 3904 of the DFAL). The order followed a DFPI investigation in which the agency found that the operator processed transactions allowing individual customers to exceed the $1,000 daily limit and charged fees above those permitted under law, which states that operators may not collect charges exceeding $5 or 15 percent of the transaction’s U.S. dollar equivalent, whichever is greater.

The DFPI ordered the operator to pay $202,814.22 in restitution to eligible Californians and imposed a $75,000 administrative penalty. Under the agreement, the operator agreed to implement software enhancements to prevent future violations, provide periodic compliance reports, and notify and compensate eligible consumers within a 12-month period. The consent order resolved the matter without an admission of wrongdoing or liability.