Crypto Law Profile
Iowa Code § 533C.1004 caps digital financial asset kiosk charges at the greater of $5 or 15%, limits transaction amounts, requires disclosures, receipts, fraud controls and refunds, and gives enforcement authority to the attorney general.
Iowa’s Digital Financial Asset Transaction Kiosk Fee Law is the consumer-protection framework codified at Iowa Code § 533C.1004. Enacted through Senate File 449 in 2025, the section governs operators of digital financial asset transaction kiosks, which Iowa consumer materials commonly describe as cryptocurrency ATMs. The act took effect on enactment, applies to operators on or after July 1, 2025, and was amended by Senate File 2296, approved May 6, 2026.
The fee provision limits charges related to a kiosk transaction. As enacted, an operator may not directly or indirectly collect charges from a consumer that exceed the greater of $5 or 15% of the U.S. dollar equivalent of digital financial assets involved in the transaction. SF 2296 preserves the 15% cap but revises the valuation reference to the prevailing market value of the digital financial asset at the date and time the consumer initiates the transaction.
Section 533C.1004 applies to a person who owns, operates, or manages a digital financial asset transaction kiosk in Iowa. It defines a kiosk as an electronic terminal used to facilitate the exchange of a digital financial asset for money, bank credit, or another digital financial asset. The statute also limits kiosk activity to $1,000 per consumer per calendar day and, for a new consumer, $10,000 during the first 30 calendar days after the first transaction with a particular operator.
Before a transaction, the operator must provide a written disclosure in English and in the primary language used by the operator to advertise, solicit, or negotiate with the consumer. Required content includes the dollar amount of the transaction, charges to be collected, a warning about finality where no reversal or refund process is available, and a fraud warning. Receipts must include transaction timing, type, value, transaction hash, virtual currency addresses, operator contact information, exchange-rate information, fees, relevant agencies for fraud reporting, and the operator’s refund policy.
The law is state-specific and does not resolve the federal regulatory status of any digital asset or transaction. It sits within Iowa’s money transmission chapter and uses several state institutions: the Division of Banking for kiosk location reporting and the Attorney General for consumer-facing enforcement and complaints. SF 2296 adds a license-required provision for kiosk operators who own, operate, solicit, market, advertise, or facilitate kiosks in Iowa, deeming that activity money transmission requiring a license under Iowa Code § 533C.301.
The law includes operational controls beyond fee disclosure. Operators must maintain live customer service during specified weekday hours, display the toll-free customer-service number, maintain a dedicated channel for law-enforcement and regulator contacts, use blockchain analytics to help detect transactions involving known fraudulent wallets or suspicious patterns, maintain written compliance and antifraud policies, and employ a qualifying compliance officer.
The refund provisions apply separately to new and existing consumers. In both cases, the statute provides for refunds where a consumer was fraudulently induced, reports the transaction to the operator and a government or law-enforcement agency within the statutory 90-day period, and supplies proof such as a police report or sworn declaration. The Iowa Attorney General has enforcement authority; SF 2296 further classifies a violation of § 533C.1004 as an unlawful practice under Iowa Code § 714.16.
As of June 9, 2026, the Iowa kiosk fee law is effective. Editors should treat SF 449 as the originating act and SF 2296 as the current amending act when summarizing the law. The profile should be reviewed when Iowa publishes a refreshed codified version of § 533C.1004 incorporating the 2026 amendments.
Operators may not collect charges above the greater of $5 or 15% of the U.S. dollar value of the digital financial asset transaction.
Kiosk activity is limited to $1,000 per consumer per day and $10,000 for a new consumer during the first 30 days with an operator.
Operators must provide pre-transaction disclosures and receipts covering value, charges, exchange-rate information, fraud warnings, contacts and refund policy.
SF 2296 deems covered kiosk activity money transmission requiring a license and revises reporting of kiosk locations to the Division of Banking.
Operators must maintain customer service, law-enforcement contacts, blockchain analytics, written compliance policies, antifraud policies and a compliance officer.
Refund provisions cover fraudulently induced transactions reported within statutory periods; SF 2296 classifies violations as unlawful practices.
Governor approved SF 449, creating Iowa Code § 533C.1004 for digital financial asset transaction kiosks.
SF 449 applies on or after July 1, 2025, to covered kiosk operators.
Iowa consumer-facing FAQ summarized the new cryptocurrency ATM law and complaint process.
Governor approved amendments to licensing, valuation, location reporting and enforcement provisions.
Iowa Attorney General, Iowa Division of Banking, Iowa General Assembly
Cryptocurrency, Digital assets, Virtual currency
Profile covers Iowa Code § 533C.1004 as enacted by SF 449 and amended by SF 2296. Verify codified text after Iowa updates the Code to incorporate the 2026 amendments.
