New York utility bill payment agent bonds.
From $1,000.
A New York licensed check casher that takes utility bill payments as agent of Western Union or CheckFreePay must secure a surety bond payable to that transmitter, at least $100,000 for each location that accepts them, under 3 NYCRR § 400.12(k)(2). Premiums cost 1% of the bond amount, $1,000 minimum.
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How much does a New York utility bill payment agent bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $1,000 at the $100,000 minimum. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
Once DFS has approved you to act as the transmitter’s agent, the bond is short paperwork. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your company details, the transmitter named in your agency agreement, the bond amount for your utility-paying locations, and the effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most applications clear on the spot. The soft credit pull never affects your score, and larger amounts may get a short underwriter look before issue. Your premium is 1% of the bond amount, $1,000 minimum on the $100,000 one-location floor.
Deliver it and show DFS
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email. Deliver the bond to the transmitter it is payable to, and give the Superintendent of Financial Services evidence of it before you accept your first utility bill payment.
What it is and who needs it.
What the utility remittance bond actually guarantees
New York licenses check cashers under Banking Law Article 9-A and the Superintendent’s Regulations, 3 NYCRR Part 400. Many of them also serve as agents for a licensed money transmitter, and one of the most common services is taking customers’ utility bill payments for remittance through Western Union or CheckFreePay. Under § 400.12(b), a licensee may not act as a money transmitter’s agent at all without the Superintendent’s prior written approval, requested on the Department of Financial Services’ Money Transmission Agent Application.
Section 400.12(k)(2) then adds the bond. The licensee must insure against loss to the licensed money transmitter and the customer on any utility bill payment it accepts, by securing a surety bond payable to the licensed money transmitter, in the amount of at least $100,000 for each of its locations, covering all utility bill payments it accepts. Evidence of the bond, satisfactory to the Superintendent, must be given to the Superintendent before the first utility payment is accepted.
The bond sits beside the other rules in § 400.12(k). Utility funds must be remitted to the utility by money orders from a licensed money transmitter at least twice a week, and every customer gets a separate receipt showing the date, the amount and the utility company. If a store takes a customer’s payment and it never reaches the utility, the bond answers to the transmitter and, through it, the customer.
On this carrier product the obligee is Western Union Financial Services, Inc. and/or CheckFreePay. The rule speaks of the transmitter you act for, so name the one in your agency agreement. This is not the transmitter’s own licensing bond to the Superintendent, which is a separate product. It is not insurance for you. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Your premium is 1% of the amount you bond, $1,000 minimum on one location’s $100,000 bond, after a soft credit pull that never affects your score.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The term is set on the carrier’s application; the premium covers the period shown there.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
Deliver it and show DFS. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email. Deliver the bond to the transmitter it is payable to, and give the Superintendent of Financial Services evidence of it before you accept your first utility bill payment.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, priced at checkout.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including the transmitter you act for and a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. The pull never affects your score, and your price, 1% of the bond amount with a $1,000 minimum on the $100,000 floor, is set at application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other New York bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Start taking utility payments.
1% of the bond amount, $1,000 minimum on one location’s $100,000 bond, soft pull only. Enter at least $100,000 per location and give DFS evidence of the bond before the first payment. Free until issued.