California payments and fintech laws

What California has enacted on payments and fintech, what each law requires, and what the bills still moving would do. California is one of 42 states that enacted a payments and fintech law in the 2025 and 2026 sessions.

167 new California laws take effect in 2027, 6 on payments and fintech

Bills in scope
15bills in scope
Past committee
12past committee
Most recent action
30 September 2026most recent action

Payments and fintech laws enacted in California

10 payments and fintech laws enacted in the California Legislature in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, newest first. Each links to the legislature's own page.

  • AB 1793Cash payments: calculation.Takes effect 1 January 2027

    What it requires: A merchant doing business in this state must round the total transaction price to the nearest amount divisible by five cents when payment is made wholly in legal tender. Amounts ending in one, two, six, or seven cents round down; amounts ending in three, four, eight, or nine cents round up. Rounding does not apply if the total price is two cents or fewer, or if payment is made entirely by non-cash methods.

    Card surcharges and payment fees

  • AB 1180Department of Financial Protection and Innovation: state payments.Takes effect 1 January 2027

    What it requires: The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, in consultation with the Treasurer and the Controller, shall adopt regulations to allow payments required under the Digital Financial Assets Law to be made with stablecoins issued by licensees and redeemable directly from the issuer, except for payments related to enforcement measures or those conflicting with specified Government Code provisions.

    Virtual currency and crypto kiosks

  • SB 1208Money laundering: digital assets.Takes effect 1 January 2027

    What it requires: Law enforcement officers or prosecuting agencies may obtain search warrants to seize digital financial assets upon probable cause that they contain proceeds of crime, are traceable to crime, or facilitate crime. Prosecuting agencies must initiate forfeiture proceedings within 180 days of seizure and distribute seized assets to crime victims on a pro rata basis up to their actual losses.

    Virtual currency and crypto kiosks, Payment fraud and scams

  • SB 505Money Transmission Act: authentication.Takes effect 1 January 2027

    What it requires: A licensee under the Money Transmission Act shall not allow a user login without implementing two-factor authentication, multifactor authentication, or other reasonably equivalent or more secure access control; a process for reverifying user, device, or system identity using similar authentication; and the ability for users to report errors or suspected fraud through the platform or a reasonably accessible alternative.

    Money transmission and licensing, Interchange and card networks, Prepaid, gift cards and P2P

  • AB 2375Alcoholic beverage control.Takes effect 1 January 2027

    What it requires: Licensed wholesalers must initiate electronic funds transfer payment from licensed retailers by the 30th day after delivery of beer, wine, or distilled spirits. If payment is not received by day 30, wholesalers must charge 1 percent of the unpaid balance on day 31 and an additional 1 percent for each subsequent 30-day period. Wholesalers must select third-party payment processors meeting specified requirements.

  • SB 1078Gift certificates: cash redemption.Enacted 20 September 2026

    What it does: Amends Civil Code Section 51.1 to require parties in civil rights cases before California appellate courts to serve briefs on the Director of the Civil Rights Department in addition to the State Solicitor General. Also authorizes Santa Cruz County to levy a transactions and use tax up to 0.5% until December 31, 2030, subject to voter approval.

    Prepaid, gift cards and P2P

  • AB 1683Workers' compensation: prepaid cards.Takes effect 1 January 2027

    What it requires: An employer may deposit disability indemnity payments in a prepaid card account if the employee provides written consent. The prepaid card must allow full balance withdrawal without fees, provide reasonable ATM access, permit fee-free point-of-sale purchases, and prohibit credit links. Only specified fees are permissible.

    Prepaid, gift cards and P2P

  • SB 97Digital financial assets: stablecoins.Enacted 30 June 2026

    What it requires: Covered persons must obtain a license from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation before engaging in digital financial asset business activity with California residents, effective July 1, 2026. Covered exchanges must certify compliance with risk assessment and disclosure requirements before listing digital financial assets. Licensees must maintain security, anti-fraud, and anti-money laundering policies.

    Virtual currency and crypto kiosks

  • SB 22Gift certificates.Took effect 1 January 2026

    What it requires: Sellers of gift certificates must not include expiration dates or service fees except as specified. Gift certificates with cash value less than fifteen dollars must be redeemable in cash for their cash value, except those donated to nonprofits or charities with a disclaimer. These requirements become operative April 1, 2026.

    Prepaid, gift cards and P2P

  • AB 1507Financial institutions.Took effect 1 January 2026

    What it requires: Each licensee or agent conducting money transmission must prominently post a notice at each branch office with specified contact information for the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The notice must be in English and any language principally used to advertise or solicit money transmission services, printed in letters at least one-half inch high, and posted conspicuously in unobstructed public view.

    Money transmission and licensing

Payments and fintech in California, by topic

Payments and fintech bills in California

The bills not yet law, furthest along first, with what each would do.

10Enacted

2Past committee

3Introduced or inactive

15 bills in scope

Past committee

2

AB 2285Digital Financial Asset Banking Act.Passed chamber

What it would do: Authorizes banks and credit unions to provide digital asset custody, staking, and transaction services under Department of Financial Protection and Innovation oversight, requiring custodial agreements, annual audits, reserve requirements, cybersecurity programs, and antimoney laundering compliance. Excludes staking rewards from securities regulation.

AB 2746Consumer debt: medical credit cards and medical debt.Passed committee

What it would do: Requires entities offering medical credit cards to provide clear disclosures that the product is a credit card, not a payment plan, and obtain express written consent. Prohibits consumer credit reporting agencies from including medical credit card information in consumer credit reports for purchases at hospitals and pharmacies.

Introduced or inactive

3

AB 1065Credit card transaction fees: tax payments: Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act.Dead

What it would do: Requires issuers, payment card networks, acquirer banks, and processors to exclude state and local taxes from interchange fee calculations when merchants provide tax amount data during authorization or settlement, or within 180 days thereafter with tax documentation.

AB 1365CalAccount Program.Dead

What it would do: Establishes the CalAccount Program providing all Californians voluntary, zero-fee, federally insured transaction accounts. Requires employers with over 10 employees to maintain payroll direct deposit arrangements enabling worker participation, with civil penalties for violations.

AB 236Digital financial asset businesses: regulatory fees.Dead

What it would do: Amends the Digital Financial Assets Law to cap the nonrefundable application fee for a digital financial asset business license at $5,000, which the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation previously determined without a statutory limit.

Bill titles link to the California Legislature's own page.

What LawSignals covers

What counts as payments and fintech legislation

In scope: Money transmission and licensing; virtual currency and crypto kiosks; card surcharges and payment fees; interchange and card networks; earned wage access; bNPL and bank partnerships; prepaid, gift cards and P2P; and payment fraud and scams.

Questions

Does California have a payments and fintech law?

Yes. California enacted 10 payments and fintech laws in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, among them AB 1793, AB 1180 and SB 1208. Each is listed on this page with what it requires.

When do California's payments and fintech laws take effect?

AB 1793 on 1 January 2027, AB 1180 on 1 January 2027, SB 1208 on 1 January 2027, SB 505 on 1 January 2027 and AB 2375 on 1 January 2027. The others have no single date in their text.

Which payments and fintech bills are moving in California?

2 bills not yet law have passed a committee or a chamber, the furthest along AB 2285 (passed chamber) and AB 2746 (passed committee).

What does California legislate on most in payments and fintech?

Virtual currency and crypto kiosks (5 bills), Prepaid, gift cards and P2P (4 bills) and Money transmission and licensing (2 bills).

Are these summaries reviewed by a lawyer?

No. Which bills count as Payments and fintech bills, and the line on what each law requires or each bill would do, are drafted by software from the bill's own text and not reviewed by an attorney. Every bill links to the legislature's own record: read the text before relying on it. The list covers bills from the 2025 and 2026 sessions.

Other practice areas in California

Payments and fintech legislation in other jurisdictions

51 more currently hold bills in this tracker

Know when California's payments and fintech law changes

An alert when a bill moves, and one report a month on what changed in every state and Congress.

Track payments and fintech laws freeAbout the Payments and Fintech Tracker