Maryland Legal Alert for Financial Services

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Maryland Proposes New Virtual Currency Kiosk Regulations 

CFPB Issues Proposed Amendments to Regulation B Under ECOA

Maryland Proposes New Virtual Currency Kiosk Regulations 

On December 1, 2025, the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation has issued a Notice of Proposed Action to adopt new regulations under COMAR 09.03.16, titled Virtual Currency Kiosks.

Under the proposed regulations, operators must register with the Commissioner through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) before operating a kiosk in Maryland, and each kiosk—whether fixed or mobile—must also be registered. Operators are also required to provide information including ownership, kiosk location or geographic area, services offered, and any other information requested by the Commissioner.

The proposed regulations also address procedures for handling fraudulent transactions, including electronic and non-electronic fraud notices, investigation timelines, and fee refund requirements. Operators are prohibited from charging users for investigations, requiring a police report to process claims, or using certain factors to deny refunds.

Communication requirements mandate that operators provide notices and disclosures using information collected from users while allowing users to select preferred methods of communication. Kiosks must comply with lighting, safety, and signage standards comparable to ATMs, including conspicuous disclosure of operator information, registration verification, and contact information for the Commissioner. On-screen disclosures must remain visible for a minimum time based on word count, and receipts must contain detailed transaction information, including fee and refund notice instructions. All transactional data must be retained for seven years. 

Operators are also required to prepare an annual report for each kiosk listing transaction volumes, fraud notices, refund denials, fee refund, and other relevant data, which must be submitted through NMLS at the time of registration renewal or expiration.

These proposed regulations constitute Maryland’s first comprehensive framework for virtual currency kiosk operations and may have significant compliance implications for offering virtual currency services.

Comments on the proposed regulations will be accepted through January 2, 2026. 

For more information concerning this topic, please contact Tamia J. Morris

Contact Tamia J. Morris | 410-576-4021

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CFPB Issues Proposed Amendments to Regulation B Under ECOA

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a proposed rule that would revise Regulation B under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The proposal includes amendments addressing the availability of disparate-impact liability under ECOA, revisions to the regulatory provisions governing discouragement of applicants or prospective applicants, and changes to the standards for special-purpose credit programs (SPCPs) offered by for-profit entities.

First, CFPB proposes to amend Regulation B to expressly state that ECOA does not authorize disparate-impact liability. CFPB explained that ECOA’s statutory text lacks the effects-based language that courts have relied upon when interpreting other civil rights laws, and that maintaining disparate-impact liability in credit markets could incentivize lenders to make decisions based on protected characteristics (e.g., race or gender)  in an effort to manage statistical outcomes—an approach the CFPB warns may conflict with ECOA’s core purpose of prohibiting discrimination. 

Second, CFPB proposes to substantially revise the standard governing discouragement of prospective applicants. Under the proposed rule, a lender would only be liable for discouragement only where it knows or should know that its statements would cause a reasonable person to believe that a credit application would be denied or offered on less favorable terms because of a prohibited characteristic. The proposed rule also seeks to eliminate “disparate-impact-like” discouragement claims, clarifying that marketing or outreach directed to particular groups is not, by itself, discouraging to those who were not the intended audience. CFPB explains that the discouragement provision was designed to prevent lenders from deterring applicants through overtly discriminatory messages and its recent application has expanded beyond what is necessary to prevent circumvention of ECOA. 

Finally, CFPB proposes new limits on SPCPs offered by for-profit organizations. CFPB states that current standards have become too broad and may conflict with constitutional constraints on the use of protected characteristics. Under the proposal, for-profit lenders would be prohibited from using race, sex, national origin, or color as eligibility criteria for SPCPs. Even where a program uses other characteristics that would ordinarily be prohibited bases—such as age, marital status, religion, or receipt of public assistance—the lender would be required to satisfy several new restrictions. These include demonstrating that applicants sharing the characteristic would not receive credit under the lender’s existing standards and that the credit could not be provided through a program that does not rely on the characteristic. 

The CFPB is accepting public comments on the proposed rule until December 15, 2025.

For more information concerning this topic, please contact Tamia J. Morris

Contact Tamia J. Morris | 410-576-4021

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