SENATE, No. 3321

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 14, 2022

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  ANDREW ZWICKER

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires Department of Treasury to review and approve digital payment platform.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning certain digital payment platforms and supplementing Title 17 of the Revised Statutes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

      1.   The Department of the Treasury shall review and approve a viable blockchain-based, digital payment platform to provide payment services to legal and licensed businesses in this State that do not have access to traditional financial services and are forced to operate in cash-only or cash-heavy environments. The purpose of the payment platform shall be to provide a safe, secure, and compliant system that does not exclude these businesses from participating in digital commerce.

 

     2.    The payment platform shall provide businesses with access to cashless transactions and to secure revenue on a one-to-one basis of virtual currency to United States dollars.  A business shall only have access to the payment platform with approval from the State.  The payment platform shall provide the ability to manage and process all business expenditures and allow all transactions to be recorded on an immutable blockchain ledger.  The payment platform shall facilitate regulatory compliance, provide for audits by the State, and allow for payment of sales tax to local municipalities.

 

     3.    This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to review and approve a viable blockchain-based, digital payment platform to provide payment services to legal and licensed businesses in this State that do not have access to traditional financial services and are forced to operate in cash-only or cash-heavy environments. The purpose of the payment platform is to provide a safe, secure, and compliant system that does not exclude these businesses from participating in digital commerce.

     The bill requires the payment platform to provide businesses with access to cashless transactions and to secure revenue on a one-to-one basis of virtual currency to United States dollars. A business is to only have access to the payment platform with approval from the State.  The payment platform is to provide the ability to manage and process all business expenditures and allow all transactions to be recorded on an immutable blockchain ledger. The payment platform is to facilitate regulatory compliance, provide for audits by the State, and allow for payment of sales tax to local municipalities.