MI: AFC Support Letter for MI HB 5544

The Honorable Mark Tisdel
Chairman
Committee on Finance
Anderson House Office Building
Room 521
124 North Capitol Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933

The Honorable Steve Frisbie
Vice Chairman
Committee on Finance
Anderson House Office Building
Room 521
124 North Capitol Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933

The Honorable Jason Hoskins
Vice Chairman
Committee on Finance
Anderson House Office Building
Room 521
124 North Capitol Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933

Re: Support for House Bill 5544

Dear Chair Tisdel, Vice-Chair Frisbie, Vice-Chair Hoskins, and members of the House Finance Committee:  

On behalf of the American Fintech Council (AFC),  I am writing to express our strong support for House Bill 5544 (HB 5544), which would streamline and modernize the regulation of money transmission businesses in Michigan through the adoption of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors’ Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA)—reported to your committee on February 19, 2026.

AFC is a standards-based organization and the largest and most diverse trade association representing financial technology companies and innovative banks. On behalf of over 150 member companies and partners, AFC promotes a transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system by supporting responsible innovation in financial services and encouraging sound public policy. AFC members foster competition in consumer finance and pioneer products and services that expand access, improve efficiency, and better serve underserved consumers and communities across the United States.

AFC has consistently advocated for a unified approach to regulation that encourages responsible innovation in financial services. The MTMA bill before your committee reflects the policy principles that AFC seeks to implement through its advocacy. Specifically, the MTMA seeks to modernize and harmonize the payments regulatory framework.  In turn, this will allow payments services companies operating across the country an improved regulatory framework that lowers costs and allows these companies to improve their offerings for Michiganders. Ultimately, both Michigan consumers and businesses who rely on payments companies every day will benefit from the passage of this bill.

Currently, state legislatures around the country have been diligently working to pass and implement the Conference of State Bank Supervisors’ model MTMA, AFC has supported this model legislation due to its pragmatic approach towards modernizing the complex payments regulatory ecosystem. Thus far, over 25 states have enacted the MTMA.  We believe it is crucial for Michigan to join the states that have already enacted a version of the MTMA in order to ensure that the regulatory environment in Michigan fits the modern payments ecosystem.

AFC remains committed to partnering with the Michigan Legislature in crafting any new financial policies that reflect the realities of the modern payments ecosystem and ensure that the Michigan economy and Michigan consumers are best served. We applaud the Representative Lightner for introducing HB 5544 to expand access to credit for Michigan consumers and hope you will report the bill favorably out of your committee. Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can serve as a resource or provide further perspective on the role of fintech in enhancing America’s financial health.  

Sincerely,

Ashley Urisman

Director of State Government Affairs
American Fintech Council

CC:
Representative Sarah Lightner

[1] American Fintech Council’s (AFC) membership spans banks, non-bank lenders, payments providers, EWA providers, loan servicers, credit bureaus, and personal financial management companies.
[2] See, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, “CSBS Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA)”, Apr. 30, 2025, available at https://www.csbs.org/csbs-money-transmission-modernization-act-mtma.
[3] Ibid.

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