Georgia Administrative Code

(1) Branch offices may be established with the prior approval of the Department by regular application or by expedited application for certain qualified credit unions as provided in paragraph (3). (2) Unless the provisions related to an expedited application in paragraph (3) is s…

(1) Definitions: (a) Relocation. The location of an existing branch location is to be moved to a new or additional location which is to be constructed, purchased or leased within the same immediate vicinity of the existing branch. (b) Redesignation. Where two existing credit unio…

(1) The Board of Directors of each credit union shall review the fidelity insurance coverage annually in order to ascertain its adequacy in relation to the exposure to theft, defalcation, or other similar actions by officers, directors, and employees and to any minimum requiremen…

(1) Every Audit Committee shall have an annual audit of the credit union performed, which must be comprehensive in scope covering the period elapsed since the last annual audit, and submit a summary of the audit results at the next annual meeting of the members of the credit unio…

An audit of a credit union by an independent accountant or firm of such accountants or the internal auditors of any sponsoring group, concern, or association of credit unions shall be made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as set forth in pronouncements of …

(1) The auditor should be generally familiar with the statutes, rules, and regulations under which the credit union being audited operates, and with its charter and bylaw provisions. The annual audit should incorporate the necessary procedures to satisfy the auditor that there is…

(1) An institution shall have an internal audit program that is appropriate to the size of the institution and the nature and scope of its activities. An appropriate internal audit program consists of qualified persons and provides for effective: (a) Monitoring and reporting on t…

(1) A state credit union may contract with another financial institution or a third party service provider to provide certain services in a principal-agent relationship, provided both parties comply with the applicable rules and regulations of the Department. (2) Agency relations…

(1) If a state-chartered credit union is required to disclose a credit union service contract to the National Credit Union Administration, a duplicate of such disclosure will simultaneously be submitted to the Department. (2) A state-chartered credit union entering into a credit …

(1) Each third party service provider that enters into a credit union service contract with a state-chartered credit union shall be subject to examination and regulation by the department as if the entity were a state financial institution, as authorized by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-72. (2)…

(1) State chartered credit unions may offer Debt Cancellation Contracts and Debt Suspension Agreements to members, subject to this rule and policies and procedures of the Department. Policies of the Department include requirements for disclosures and certain prohibited practices.…

(1) The field of membership of a state-chartered credit union shall consist of those persons, groups of persons, or organizations, each bound together by its own "common bond," i.e., a specific relationship of occupation, association or interest; residence or employment within a …

(1) Requests for approval of non-geographic common bonds can be submitted to the Department via an expedited application form so long as the following conditions are satisfied: (a) The credit union must have received a CAMELS composite rating of "1" or "2" as a result of the most…

(1) A field of membership may consist of more than one common bond. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 7-1-634, application to the Department is required prior to a credit union amending its bylaws to add an additional common bond group. (2) An application to add a common bond group must: (a…

(1) A credit union shall request approval from the department to add a geographic common bond group to its field of membership by an amendment to its bylaws. O.C.G.A. § 7-1-630(b) permits a common bond of a field of membership to be "residence or employment within a well-defined …

The department may waive any provisions of this chapter in its discretion to facilitate the merger or combination of any credit union with a troubled or failing credit union.

(1) Subject to such further restrictions and limitations as its board of directors may set forth in this investment policy, a credit union may purchase, sell and hold securities: (a) Without limitation if such securities are: 1. The general obligations of the United States Govern…

(1) Securities transactions shall be accounted for in accordance with paragraph 1 of Rule . (2) Credit Unions shall maintain documentation sufficient to identify adequately the nature of all securities owned. For all securities other than direct investments in government bonds, n…

(1) Securities may be held in physical or book entry form. (2) Physical possession of securities shall be maintained: (a) In the vault of the investing credit union, or (b) In safekeeping at any: 1. Federally-insured correspondent bank, credit union or trust company, 2. Federal R…

(1) For purposes of this Rule Chapter and Rule , the terms that are defined in O.C.G.A. § 7-1-680 shall have the identical meaning. (2) "Outstanding money transmission obligations" shall be established and extinguished in accordance with applicable state law and shall mean: (a) A…

(1) Every licensee or authorized agent of a licensee, unless such authorized agent is a financial institution whose deposits are federally insured, shall display a copy of the licensee's license prominently in every physical location in this state where money transmission is cond…

(1) Licensees may designate authorized agents to engage in money transmission, and the place of business of such authorized agents will not be construed as a branch office of the licensee. The licensee must conduct a reasonable risk-based background investigation sufficient to de…

(1) In the event that a licensee provides notice under applicable federal or state law of an information security incident involving unauthorized access to personal information, then the licensee shall simultaneously provide a duplicate of such disclosure to the Department. For p…

All licensees shall create and maintain an information security program to safeguard the nonpublic personal information of customers to the extent required by 16 C.F.R. Part 314 (the "Safeguards Rule"). As part of its regulatory oversight, the Department shall review, to the exte…

(1) (a) Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 7-1-72, licensed money transmitters may enter into contracts with third party service providers or affiliates of the licensee, as defined by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-4, to perform material services ("material service provider"), including, but not limited to,…

(1) Location Reporting: Virtual currency kiosk operators shall submit to the Department on a quarterly basis a report containing location information of each operators' virtual currency kiosks as required by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-699.10(9). Such report shall include: (a) The street addr…

Licensees are required to prepare and submit various reports of condition. (1) Each licensee shall have an audit of its books and records performed at least annually by independent public accountants in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Audits will be submitt…

(1) Every applicant for a license shall demonstrate to the Department that such applicant has sufficient financial resources in the form of working capital and tangible net worth to successfully engage in the business of money transmission. Sufficiency of financial resources shal…

If a licensee's average daily money transmission liability, as calculated by the licensee for each calendar quarter, exceeds the amount of the licensee's surety bond by more than ten percent (10%), the licensee must promptly, which in no event shall be later than twenty (20) days…

(1) A licensee shall submit an application in the form and in a manner prescribed by the Department seeking approval for any proposed change in ultimate equitable ownership through acquisition or other change in control or change in executive officer resulting from such proposed …

The notice of change in executive officer required by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-687(e) shall be timely furnished to the Department through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry ("NMLSR"). Supporting documentation for the notice demonstrating whether the executive officer m…

(1) Each applicant or licensee who has an owner or potential owner who claims to satisfy the passive investor definition in O.C.G.A. § 7-1-680 shall provide to the Department the following documentation at the time of initial license application or at least thirty (30) days prior…

(1) The following investments are permissible to satisfy the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 7-1-683.2(c): (a) Cash, including demand deposits, savings deposits, and funds in such accounts held for the benefit of the licensee's customers in a federally insured depository financial ins…

(1) Each licensee shall make, keep, and preserve the following books, accounts, and other records: (a) A record of each payment instrument sold; (b) A general ledger which shall be posted at least monthly containing all assets, liabilities, capital, and income and expense account…

Each licensee shall maintain a principal location at which its books and records are maintained and which is accessible to the Department for examination during normal business hours. Records required to be maintained under this rule may be maintained in a photographic, electroni…

(1) Except as otherwise indicated, these fines and penalties apply to any person, partnership, association, corporation, or any other group of individuals, however organized, that is required to be licensed under Article 4 of Chapter 1 of Title 7. The Department, at its sole disc…

(1) Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1, the Department is required to obtain an affidavit verifying the lawful presence of every natural person that submits an application for a license as a money transmitter on behalf of an individual, business, corporation, partnership, limited lia…

(1) License issuance and renewals. (a) All applications for new or renewal licenses must be made through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry ("NMLSR") unless otherwise expressly exempted from this requirement by the Department in writing. Fees for new applicat…

Upon request by the Department, the international investigative background report authorized by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-689(f)(1)(C) shall be provided by any individual who has resided outside the United States at any time within ten (10) years prior to applying for a licensee or occupyin…

(1) As required by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-684(f), applicants and licensees must have commercial background checks performed on all covered employees, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 7-1-680(7). Background checks on all covered employees must be completed and found satisfactory by an applicant p…

Money transmitters licensed as of July 1, 2023, shall be afforded a transition period through December 31, 2024, to demonstrate compliance with the following requirements: (a) The content of written agreements between licensees and their authorized agents, including both new and …

(1) For the purposes of this Rule, Money Service Businesses ("MSBs") refer to a class of non-bank financial institutions defined in the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970 and its related regulations, including those set forth at 31 CFR Chapter X (together, th…