Key ATMIA Advocacy Updates

The pace of our advocacy activities does slow down a bit by the end of the Summer, but by no means, does it come to a halt.  In just the past month, ATMIA has launched:

• A new relationship with Troutman Strategies in Washington, DC
• Efforts to enable IADs to acquire formal certification/credentials related to anti-money laundering
• ATMIA support for the Payment Choice Coalition – most of who’s members are also members of ATMIA

ATMIA has been providing access to Stateside Associates monitoring services for the past 13 years. With the exception of the first couple of years, that access has been to legislative activity in all 50 states. Over the past few years, however, member use of those services has declined to less than half of its peak. In several instances, ATMIA was able to respond to potentially harmful legislative proposals. However, each would only have impacted a small percentage of the membership. And that percentage is shrinking.

Considering the potential impact of current legislative proposals at the Federal level to the entire industry, ATMIA USA is exploring a shift to a greater focus on those proposals – which would impact all U.S. members. For the remainder of this year, Troutman Strategies, Washington, DC, will be providing us with updates on legislative activity – with a focus on the ATM crime bill. Further consideration is being given to a more robust engagement for 2026.

The ATMIA IAD Committee is taking on the task of assisting members with acquiring anti-money laundering certification. IADs/ISOs who can demonstrate AML expertise may have an easier path to acquiring and keeping banking relationships.

ATMIA has formally given its support to the efforts of the Payment Choice Coalition, which was formed as an advocate for the Payment Choice Act, that would require U.S. retail merchants to accept cash payments for in-person retail transactions. Support for that bill has been strong for the last two sessions of Congress – but only in the House (H.R. 1138). A companion bill was finally introduced in the Senate (S. 2326) by Senator Kramer (ND) in July. 

I was invited to attend a group dinner in Washington, DC on September 2^nd. Since most of its members are ATMIA members, it was also a bit of a homecoming. My thanks go out to Lowers Risk Group for the invitation. Both of the primary sponsors, John Rose and Kevin Cramer, spoke to the group and confirmed their support for getting that bill passed.

We continue to encourage all our members to reach out to their Senators and Representatives, both as personal and business constituents, to support the critical legislation that is now under consideration:

• The Safe Access to Cash Act (ATM crime bill)
• The Payment Choice Act (cash acceptance)
• The FIRM Act (elimination of reputational risk as an element of creditworthiness)

Best regards to all.

David