AFC joins other trade groups in opposing bills that would hinder law enforcement and restrict access to lawful remittance service

Washington, D.C. (January 26, 2026) – The American Fintech Council (AFC), the largest industry association representing both responsible fintech companies and innovative banks, joined a coalition of trade associations and industry organizations in submitting letters opposing proposed remittance legislation in Florida and Missouri. The measures—Florida’s HB 1307 and SB 1380 and Missouri’s HB 2412—would condition access to lawful money transmission services on immigration or work-authorization verification, creating operational burdens, reducing transparency, and pushing transactions into unregulated channels that weaken law enforcement oversight.

“Licensed remittance providers already operate under some of the most rigorous state and federal oversight in the financial system,” said Phil Goldfeder, CEO of the American Fintech Council. “These proposals would force providers to perform verification they are not authorized or equipped to do, creating unnecessary barriers for consumers and weakening the regulated systems that law enforcement relies on to detect illicit activity.”

In letters to the Florida House Commerce Committee and the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, AFC and coalition partners warned that HB 1307 and SB 1380 would deputize private financial companies to enforce federal immigration law—an authority they do not have under existing AML rules. Despite already complying with the Bank Secrecy Act, the Remittance Transfer rule, and KYC requirements, providers would face new compliance and privacy risks that could deny service to lawful users and drive activity into informal alternatives beyond law enforcement oversight.

In a separate letter to the Missouri House Financial Institutions Committee, the coalition raised similar concerns with HB 2412, which would impose comparable status-verification mandates on remittance services. The proposal would expand state surveillance of routine financial activity, increase liability for small businesses offering remittance services, and ultimately push consumers toward unregulated channels—reducing audit trails, transaction monitoring, and other tools critical to detecting and disrupting illicit finance.

“The proposed laws place an impossible burden on providers, demanding actions they are not empowered to perform under federal law,” said Ian P. Moloney, Chief Policy Officer at the American Fintech Council. “Rather than stopping illicit activity, these measures would increase compliance risk, expand surveillance, and undermine the effectiveness of law enforcement oversight.”

A standards-based organization, the American Fintech Council (AFC) is the largest and most diverse trade association representing financial technology (fintech) companies and innovative banks. On behalf of over 150 member companies and partners, AFC promotes a transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system by supporting responsible innovation in financial services and encouraging sound public policy. AFC members foster competition in consumer finance and pioneer products to better serve underserved consumer segments and geographies.

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