Wisconsin community currency exchange bonds.
$100.
Wisconsin licenses check-cashing community currency exchanges under Wis. Stat. 218.05, and before a license issues the applicant must file with the Division of Banking a surety bond in the principal sum of $5,000, running to the State of Wisconsin. At 1% of the bond amount with a $100 minimum, that prices at $100.
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How much does a Wisconsin community currency exchange bond cost?
$100 for the $5,000 bond: the carrier’s $100 minimum, since 1% of the amount comes to less.
Three steps. One sitting.
Community currency exchange bonds are among the simplest filings in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, an effective date, and a term. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
This bond is checkout-priced — $100, so it issues the moment you pay — your executed bond and power of attorney generate on the spot.
File with the Division of Banking
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with your community currency exchange license application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
A community currency exchange is any person, other than a bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, or credit union, engaged in the business of cashing checks, drafts, and money orders for a fee. Wisconsin licenses them under Wis. Stat. 218.05 through the Division of Banking at the Department of Financial Institutions.
Before a license is issued, the applicant must file annually with and have approved by the division a surety bond in the principal sum of $5,000, issued by an insurer authorized to do business in Wisconsin. The bond runs to the State of Wisconsin for the benefit of any creditors of the exchange — including any payee of a check, draft, or money order left for collection — and for any penalties imposed under the section.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Because the division takes the bond annually, it has to stay continuously on file; we track the term and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
You need this bond if you're
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 $5,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose; a longer term is the same price per year, chosen at checkout.
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
File with the Division of Banking. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with your community currency exchange license application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
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.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — business details, an effective date, and a term. That is the entire application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Wisconsin bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
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Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Finish your currency exchange license today.
$100 at checkout, issued the moment you pay, no credit check. Free until issued.