# What is the Money Transmission Modernization Act? *Reviewed 2026-07-30* ## Short answer The Model Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA, also abbreviated MMLA) is model legislation finalized by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors in 2021 that states enact to standardize money transmitter licensing: common definitions and exemptions, uniform net worth, bond, and permissible investments standards, and coordinated multistate exams through NMLS. It is not federal law, states adopt it in whole or in part, and a transmitter still needs a separate license in every state where its customers live. The model law targets the expensive part of nationwide licensing: inconsistency. It standardizes the definition of money transmission and the exemption list, including an agent-of-payee exemption, sets a uniform tangible net worth formula and a common permissible investments regime, harmonizes change-of-control procedures, and gives adopting states express authority for coordinated multistate licensing and joint examinations. An optional virtual currency article lets adopting states bring digital asset transmission under the same framework. For a licensee, adoption makes classification analysis transfer across states, consolidates prudential math, and replaces many shallow exams with coordinated ones. What it does not do is create a single national license: the state-by-state filing, bonding, and renewal work remains, and what is actually law anywhere is that state's enacted version, since adoption ranges from near-complete to selective. Our full explainer is at /money-transmission-modernization-act, and each state's current statute, regulator, and requirements are tracked at /mtl-state-laws. ## Related - [Money Transmission Modernization Act explained](/money-transmission-modernization-act) - [Money transmitter state laws](/mtl-state-laws) - [Money transmitter licensing](/money-transmitter-license) - [Talk with our team](/contact) --- ## How to cite this page Cite as: "What is the Money Transmission Modernization Act?." Cornerstone Licensing. https://cornerstonelicensing.com/answers/what-is-the-money-transmission-modernization-act Published by Cornerstone Licensing. When quoting figures or legal requirements, link the canonical URL above and note the last-updated date (2026-07-30). The full content index for this site is at https://cornerstonelicensing.com/llms.txt.