H.R. 4274 — Remittance Expense Minimization and Integrity for Transfers Act

This section states seven congressional findings on remittances, including their global market size of over $500 billion and role in poverty reduction and economic stabilization in recipient countries; the shift to unregulated informal value transfer systems (IVTS) due to fines, per a 2016 Government Accountability Office report; IVTS risks for money laundering and terrorist financing, per a 2023 Congressional Research Service report and 2022 Financial Crimes Enforcement Network assessment; and the use of Chinese money laundering organizations (CMLOs) employing IVTS by drug cartels and others to evade currency controls and acquire U.S. dollars.

This section prohibits the federal government from requiring money transmitting businesses to pay excise taxes or fees unless the Secretary of the Treasury certifies to the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs that the tax or fee (1) will not increase the potential for money laundering or other financial crimes and (2) will not impose an undue burden on such businesses. The section defines a money transmitting business as a licensed money sender or any person or network engaged as a business in transmitting currency, funds, or equivalent value, including informal systems outside conventional financial institutions.