RCW 19.230.010 — Definitions (virtual currency; money transmission)
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Research, not advice. Part of the Bitcoin research archive (October 2026). Claims labelled unverified, contested or fringe are reported, not endorsed; statuses of bills and rules are as of the date checked. Government, court and patent records are public domain; the research notes are CC BY 4.0.
RCW 19.230.010:
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/ RCWs / Title 19 / Chapter 19.230 / Section 19.230.010
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RCW 19.230.010
Definitions.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Affiliate" means any person who directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, another person.
(2) "Annual assessment due date" means the date specified in rule by the director upon which the annual assessment is due.
(3) "Applicant" means a person that files an application for a license under this chapter, including the applicant's proposed responsible individual and executive officers, and persons in control of the applicant.
(4) "Authorized delegate" means a person a licensee designates to provide money services on behalf of the licensee. A person that is exempt from licensing under this chapter cannot have an authorized delegate.
(5) "Board director" means a natural person who is a member of the applicant's or licensee's board of directors if the applicant is a corporation or limited liability company, or a partner if the applicant or licensee is a partnership.
(6) "Closed loop prepaid access" means prepaid access that can only be redeemed for a limited universe of goods, intangibles, services, or other items provided by the issuer of the prepaid access, its affiliates, or others involved in transactions functionally related to the issuer or its affiliates.
(7) "Control" means:
(a) Ownership of, or the power to vote, directly or indirectly, at least twenty-five percent of a class of voting securities or voting interests of a licensee or applicant, or person in control of a licensee or applicant;
(b) Power to elect a majority of executive officers, managers, directors, trustees, or other persons exercising managerial authority of a licensee or applicant, or person in control of a licensee or applicant; or
(c) Power to exercise directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over the management or policies of a licensee or applicant, or person in control of a licensee or applicant.
(8) "Currency exchange" means exchanging the money of one government for money of another government, or holding oneself out as able to exchange the money of one government for money of another government. The following persons are not considered currency exchangers:
(a) Affiliated businesses that engage in currency exchange for a business purpose other than currency exchange;
(b) A person who provides currency exchange services for a person acting primarily for a business, commercial, agricultural, or investment purpose when the currency exchange is incidental to the transaction;
(c) A person who deals in coins or a person who deals in money whose value is primarily determined because it is rare, old, or collectible; and
(d) A person who in the regular course of business chooses to accept from a customer the currency of a country other than the United States in order to complete the sale of a good or service other than currency exchange, that may include cash back to the customer, and does not otherwise trade in currencies or transmit money for compensation or gain.
(9) "Currency exchanger" means a person that is engaged in currency exchange.
(10) "Director" means the director of financial institutions.
(11) "Executive officer" means a president, chairperson of the executive committee, chief financial officer, responsible individual, or other individual who performs similar functions.
(12) "Financial institution" means any person doing business under the laws of any state or the United States relating to commercial banks, bank holding companies, savings banks, savings and loan associations, trust companies, or credit unions.
(13) "Licensee" means a person licensed under this chapter. "Licensee" also means any person, whether located within or outside of this state, who fails to obtain a license required by this chapter.
(14) "Material litigation" means litigation that according to generally accepted accounting principles is significant to an applicant's or a licensee's financial health and would be required to be disclosed in the applicant's or licensee's annual audited financial statements, report to shareholders, or similar records.
(15) "Mobile location" means a vehicle or movable facility where money services are provided.
(16) "Money" means a medium of exchange that is authorized or adopted by the United States or a foreign government or other recognized medium of exchange. "Money" includes a monetary unit of account established by an intergovernmental organization or by agreement between two or more governments.
(17) "Money services" means money transmission or currency exchange.
(18) "Money transmission" means receiving money or its equivalent value (equivalent value includes virtual currency) to transmit, deliver, or instruct to be delivered to another location, inside or outside the United States, by any means including but not limited to by wire, facsimile, or electronic transfer. "Money transmission" includes selling, issuing, or acting as an intermediary for open loop prepaid access and payment instruments, but not closed loop prepaid access. "Money transmission" does not include: The provision solely of connection services to the internet, telecommunications services, or network access; units of value that are issued in affinity or rewards programs that cannot be redeemed for either money or virtual currencies; and units of value that are used solely within online gaming platforms that have no market or application outside of the gaming platforms.
(19) "Money transmitter" means a person that is engaged in money transmission.
(20) "Open loop prepaid access" means prepaid access redeemable at multiple, unaffiliated merchants or service providers, or automated teller machines.
(21) "Outstanding money transmission" means the value of all money transmissions reported to the licensee for which the money transmitter 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.
(22) "Payment instrument" means a check, draft, money order, or traveler's check for the transmission or payment of money or its equivalent value, whether or not negotiable. "Payment instrument" does not include a credit card voucher, letter of credit, or instrument that is redeemable by the issuer in goods or services.
(23) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture; government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; public corporation; or any other legal or commercial entity.
(24) "Prepaid access" means access to money that has been paid in advance and can be retrieved or transferred through an electronic device or vehicle, such as a card, code, electronic serial number, mobile identification number, or personal identification number.
(25) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium, or that is stored in an electronic or other medium, and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(26) "Responsible individual" means an individual who is employed by a licensee and has principal managerial authority over the provision of money services by the licensee in this state.
(27) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(28) "Tangible net worth" means the physical worth of a licensee, calculated by taking a licensee's assets and subtracting its liabilities and its intangible assets, such as copyrights, patents, intellectual property, and goodwill.
(29) "Unsafe or unsound practice" means a practice or conduct by a licensee or an authorized delegate which creates the likelihood of material loss, insolvency, or dissipation of the licensee's assets, or otherwise materially prejudices the financial condition of the licensee or the interests of its customers.
(30) "Virtual currency" means a digital representation of value used as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value, but does not have legal tender status as recognized by the United States government. "Virtual currency" does not include the software or protocols governing the transfer of the digital representation of value or other uses of virtual distributed ledger systems to verify ownership or authenticity in a digital capacity when the virtual currency is not used as a medium of exchange.
[ 2017 c 30 s 1; 2013 c 106 s 1. Prior: 2010 c 73 s 1; 2003 c 287 s 3.]
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