The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA), the statewide association representing the retail food and distribution industry, applauds the Pennsylvania Senate today for final passage of SB 489, which lowers the fees consumers pay for cashing government and government assistance checks, and eliminates the requirement that food stores must register with the nationwide multi-state licensing system and registry (NMLS).
Senate Bill 489, sponsored by Senator Gene Yaw (R-Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Union), protects consumers by requiring check cashers to post exact fees in plain view of the customer. It also caps those fees to a maximum of 1.5 percent of the face value of a government check and a half percent of the face value of a government assistance check. In addition, the bill clarifies that retail food stores are not required by the Department of Banking and Securities to register with the NMLS.
“Thank you to Senator Yaw for sponsoring this legislation; Senate and House leadership for helping move the legislation, and Senate and House members who voted in favor of this bill which will protect consumers and takes an unnecessary burden off retailers to register with the national multi-state licensing system and registry,” said Alex Baloga, PFMA vice president of external relations.
The bill passed on a concurrence vote and now heads to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk for his signature.
