Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 668 - Nondepository Financial Institutions
Section 36a-596. (Formerly Sec. 36-531). - Definitions.

As used in sections 36a-595 to 36a-612, inclusive:

(1) “Advertise” or “advertising” has the same meaning as provided in section 36a-485.
(2) “Authorized delegate” means a person designated by a person licensed pursuant to sections 36a-595 to 36a-612, inclusive, to provide money transmission services on behalf of such licensed person.
(3) “Control” means (A) the power to vote, directly or indirectly, at least twenty-five per cent of the outstanding voting shares or voting interests of a licensee or person in control of a licensee; (B) the power to elect or appoint a majority of key individuals or executive officers, managers, directors, trustees or other persons exercising managerial authority of a person in control of a licensee; or (C) the power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over the management or policies of a licensee or person in control of a licensee. For purposes of this subdivision: (i) A person is presumed to exercise a controlling influence when the person holds the power to vote, directly or indirectly, at least ten per cent of the outstanding voting shares or voting interests of a licensee or person in control of a licensee, (ii) a person presumed to exercise a controlling influence can rebut such presumption if the person is a passive investor, and (iii) to determine the percentage of control, a person's interest shall be aggregated with the interest of any other immediate family member, including the person's spouse, parent, child, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and any other person who shares the person's home.
(4) “Control person” means any individual in control of a licensee or applicant, any individual who seeks to acquire control of a licensee or a key individual.
(5) “Electronic payment instrument” means a card or other tangible object for the transmission of money or monetary value or payment of money which contains a microprocessor chip, magnetic stripe, or other means for the storage of information, that is prefunded and for which the value is decremented upon each use, but does not include a card or other tangible object that is redeemable by the issuer in the issuer's goods or services.
(6) “Holder” means a person, other than a purchaser, who is either in possession of a payment instrument and is the named payee thereon or in possession of a payment instrument issued or endorsed to such person or bearer or in blank. “Holder” does not include any person who is in possession of a lost, stolen or forged payment instrument.
(7) “Key individual” means any individual ultimately responsible for establishing or directing policies and procedures of the licensee, including, but not limited to, an executive officer, manager, director or trustee.
(8) “Licensee” means any person licensed or required to be licensed pursuant to sections 36a-595 to 36a-612, inclusive.
(9) “Main office” has the same meaning as provided in section 36a-485.
(10) “Monetary value” means a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in money.
(11) “Money transmission” means engaging in the business of issuing or selling payment instruments or stored value, receiving money or monetary value for current or future transmission or the business of transmitting money or monetary value within the United States or to locations outside the United States by any and all means including, but not limited to, payment instrument, wire, facsimile or electronic transfer.
(12) “Outstanding” means (A) in the case of a payment instrument or stored value, that: (i) It is sold or issued in the United States; (ii) a report of it has been received by a licensee from its authorized delegates; and (iii) it has not yet been paid by the issuer, and (B) for all other money transmissions, the value reported to the licensee for which the licensee or any authorized delegate has received money or its equivalent value from the customer for transmission, but has not yet completed the money transmission by delivering the money or monetary value to the person designated by the customer.
(13) “Passive investor” means a person that: (A) Does not have the power to elect a majority of key individuals or executive officers, managers, directors, trustees or other persons exercising managerial authority of a person in control of a licensee; (B) is not employed by and does not have any managerial duties of the licensee or person in control of a licensee; (C) does not have the power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over the management or policies of a licensee or person in control of a licensee; and (D) attests to subparagraphs (A), (B) and (C) of this subdivision in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner.
(14) “Payment instrument” means a check, draft, money order, travelers check or electronic payment instrument that evidences either an obligation for the transmission of money or monetary value or payment of money, or the purchase or the deposit of funds for the purchase of such check, draft, money order, travelers check or electronic payment instrument.
(15) “Permissible investment” means: (A) Cash in United States currency; (B) time deposits, as defined in section 36a-2, or other debt instruments of a bank; (C) bills of exchange or bankers acceptances which are eligible for purchase by member banks of the Federal Reserve System; (D) commercial paper of prime quality; (E) interest-bearing bills, notes, bonds, debentures or other obligations issued or guaranteed by: (i) The United States or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or (ii) any state, or any agency, instrumentality, political subdivision, school district or legally constituted authority of any state if such investment is of prime quality; (F) interest-bearing bills or notes, or bonds, debentures or preferred stocks, traded on any national securities exchange or on a national over-the-counter market, if such debt or equity investments are of prime quality; (G) receivables due from authorized delegates consisting of the proceeds of the sale of payment instruments which are not past due or doubtful of collection; (H) gold; and (I) any other investments approved by the commissioner. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, if the commissioner at any time finds that an investment of a licensee is unsatisfactory for investment purposes, the investment shall not qualify as a permissible investment.
(16) “Prime quality” of an investment means that it is within the top four rating categories in any rating service recognized by the commissioner unless the commissioner determines for any licensee that only those investments in the top three rating categories qualify as prime quality.
(17) “Purchaser” means a person who buys or has bought a payment instrument or who has given money or monetary value for current or future transmission.
(18) “Stored value” means monetary value that is evidenced by an electronic record. For the purposes of this subdivision, “electronic record” means information that is stored in an electronic medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(19) “Travelers check” means a payment instrument for the payment of money that contains a provision for a specimen signature of the purchaser to be completed at the time of a purchase of the instrument and a provision for a countersignature of the purchaser to be completed at the time of negotiation.
(20) “Unique identifier” has the same meaning as provided in section 36a-485.
(21) “Virtual currency” means any type of digital unit that is used as a medium of exchange or a form of digitally stored value or that is incorporated into payment system technology. Virtual currency shall be construed to include digital units of exchange that (A) have a centralized repository or administrator; (B) are decentralized and have no centralized repository or administrator; or (C) may be created or obtained by computing or manufacturing effort. Virtual currency shall not be construed to include digital units that are used (i) solely within online gaming platforms with no market or application outside such gaming platforms, or (ii) exclusively as part of a consumer affinity or rewards program, and can be applied solely as payment for purchases with the issuer or other designated merchants, but cannot be converted into or redeemed for fiat currency.
(P.A. 81-264, S. 2; P.A. 87-9, S. 2, 3; P.A. 92-12, S. 96; P.A. 94-122, S. 276, 340; P.A. 98-192, S. 3; 98-258, S. 4; P.A. 01-56, S. 3; P.A. 02-73, S. 84; P.A. 04-14, S. 3; 04-136, S. 43; P.A. 07-91, S. 8; P.A. 09-208, S. 13; P.A. 13-253, S. 2; P.A. 15-53, S. 5; P.A. 17-233, S. 18; P.A. 18-173, S. 49; P.A. 22-94, S. 2; 22-96, S. 2.)
History: (Revisor's note: Pursuant to P.A. 87-9 “banking commissioner” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “commissioner of banking”); P.A. 92-12 redesignated Subdivs. and Subparas.; P.A. 94-122 deleted former Subdivs. (1) and (2) defining “commissioner” and “financial institution”, renumbered former Subdivs. (3) through (9) as Subdivs. (1) through (7), deleted Subdiv. (10) defining “person” and renumbered former Subdivs. (11) through (13) as Subdivs. (8) through (10), effective January 1, 1995; Sec. 36-531 transferred to Sec. 36a-596 in 1995; (Revisor's note: In 1997 the reference in Subdiv. (7) to “... time deposits, as defined in subdivision (55) of section 36a-2 ...” was corrected editorially by the Revisors to “... time deposits, as defined in subdivision (62) of section 36a-2 ...” to reflect the current internal numbering of that section); P.A. 98-192 added new Subdiv. (1) defining “electronic payment instrument”, made conforming changes and redesignated existing Subdivs. (1) to (10) as Subdivs. (2) to (11); P.A. 98-258 made a technical change in Subdiv. (7); P.A. 01-56 made technical changes in Subdiv. (2) defining “holder”, deleted former Subdiv. (3) defining “instrument” and renumbered existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (3), added new Subdiv. (4) defining “material litigation”, made technical changes in Subdiv. (5) defining “money order”, added new Subdiv. (6) defining “money transmission” and renumbered existing Subdivs. (6) and (7) as Subdivs. (7) and (8), redefined “outstanding” in redesignated Subdiv. (8), added new Subdiv. (9) defining “payment instrument”, renumbered existing Subdivs. (8) to (11) as Subdivs. (10) to (13) and made technical changes in redesignated Subdivs. (10) to (13); P.A. 02-73 amended Subdiv. (10)(B) by changing reference from Subdiv. (63) to Subdiv. (65) of Sec. 36a-2; P.A. 04-14 added definitions of “monetary value” in new Subdiv. (5) and “stored value” and “electronic record” in new Subdiv. (14), renumbering the existing Subdivs. accordingly, inserted references to “monetary value” and “current or future” transmission in definition of “money transmission”, inserted references to “stored value” in definitions of “money transmission” and “outstanding” and, in Subpara. (A) of the latter definition, inserted “or issued”, and made a technical change in definition of “permissible investment”, effective April 16, 2004; P.A. 04-136 amended Subdiv. (10)(B) to make a technical change, effective May 12, 2004; P.A. 07-91 inserted references to transmission “of money or monetary value” in definitions of “electronic payment instrument” and “payment instrument” in Subdivs. (1) and (10); P.A. 09-208 redefined “licensee” in Subdiv. (3), “outstanding” in Subdiv. (9) and “purchaser” in Subdiv. (13) and defined “unsafe or unsound practice” in Subdiv. (16), effective July 7, 2009; P.A. 13-253 added reference to Secs. 36a-611 and 36a-612, added new Subdiv. (1) defining “authorized delegate”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (1) to (3) as Subdivs. (2) to (4), deleted former Subdiv. (4) defining “material litigation”, deleted former Subdiv. (6) defining “money order”, redesignated existing Subdiv. (7) as Subdiv. (6) and amended same to redefine “money transmission”, deleted former Subdiv. (8) defining “net worth”, redesignated existing Subdiv. (9) as Subdiv. (7) and amended same to redefine “outstanding”, redesignated existing Subdiv. (10) as Subdiv. (8) and amended same to redefine “payment instrument”, redesignated existing Subdiv. (11) as Subdiv. (9) and amended same to redefine “permissible investment”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (12) to (15) as Subdivs. (10) to (13), deleted former Subdiv. (16) defining “unsafe or unsound practice”, and made technical and conforming changes; P.A. 15-53 added Subdiv. (14) defining “virtual currency”; P.A. 17-233 added new Subdiv. (1) defining “advertise” or “advertising”, redesignated existing Subdiv. (1) as Subdiv. (2), added new Subdiv. (3) defining “control person” and redesignated existing Subdivs. (2) to (14) as Subdivs. (4) to (16); P.A. 18-173 added new Subdiv. (7) re definition of “main office”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (7) to (15) as new Subdivs. (8) to (16), added Subdiv. (17) re definition of “unique identifier”, and redesignated existing Subdiv. (16) as Subdiv. (18); P.A. 22-94 added new Subdiv. (3) to define “control”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (3) to (5) as Subdivs. (4) to (6), redefined “control person” in new Subdiv. (4), added new Subdiv. (7) to define “key individual”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (6) to (10) as Subdivs. (8) to (12), added new Subdiv. (13) to define “passive investor”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (11) to (18) as Subdivs. (14) to (21) and made a technical change in new Subdiv. (16); P.A. 22-96 redefined “control person” in Subdiv. (4) and “key individual” in Subdiv. (7).

Structure Connecticut General Statutes