A.  No person, except those specified in La. Rev. Stat. 6:1034, shall engage in the business of money transmission or selling checks as a service or for a fee or other consideration without having first obtained a license pursuant to this Chapter.

B.  The license granted shall be for the period commencing on January first and ending on December thirty-first of the year of initial licensure or renewal of a previously issued license, as the case may be.  The license fee for the year of initial licensure shall not be prorated based on the number of months the license will be in effect; however, each person whose license is renewed for the licensing period of April, 2012, to April, 2013, shall on or before December 31, 2012, submit all required data for license renewal for the period of April, 2013, to December 31, 2013, and pay a licensing renewal fee equal to eight-twelfths of the total licensing fee paid for the licensing period of April, 2012, to April, 2013.

C.  The office of financial institutions shall deposit the license fee check within two business days after it is received, anything to the contrary in La. Rev. Stat. 49:308 or 950 et seq. notwithstanding, whether or not the application is accompanied by all supporting documents required by law to be furnished as a prerequisite to licensure.  However, the act of depositing the license fee shall not be construed as the granting of a license if the commissioner determines that the applicant has not met the requirements of this Chapter.

D.  Any person required to be licensed by this Chapter shall pay all applicable fees to utilize any electronic database licensing system as described in La. Rev. Stat. 6:121.8.

Acts 1966, No. 476, §3.  Amended by Acts 1972, No. 324, §1; Acts 1988, No. 792, §1; Acts 1992, No. 65, §1, eff. June 4, 1992; Acts 2001, No. 586, §1, eff. June 22, 2001; Acts 2012, No. 220, §1, eff. May 22, 2012.