Crypto ATM laws in Iowa: a guide for operators (2026)

Licensing in Iowa

The Division of Banking has long treated virtual currency as 'monetary value', so receiving it for transmission needs a money transmission license under Iowa Code ch. 533C (the Uniform Money Transmission Modernization Act); its October 2024 guidance applies this to kiosk operators, and SF 2296 (2026) makes it explicit.

Regulator: Iowa Division of Banking · License: Money transmitter license

Sources: IDOB: Guidance for Virtual Currency Kiosks (Oct 2024) · Iowa Code 533C.101 (Uniform MTMA; 2023 Acts ch 83) · Iowa Code ch. 533C (2026)

Iowa's kiosk law

Iowa Code § 533C.1004 (SF 449, 2025; SF 2296, 2026) · effective 2025-07-01. License, $1,000 a day, a charge cap, warnings, receipts, live support and 90-day fraud refunds.

• Operating or facilitating a kiosk in Iowa is money transmission and needs a license under § 533C.301 (SF 2296).
• No more than $1,000 a calendar day per consumer; in a new consumer's first 30 days, no more than $10,000 in total.
• Charges capped at the greater of $5 or 15% of the U.S. dollar value of the assets.
• A separate written disclosure before each transaction, in English and your main marketing language, including "CONSUMER FRAUD OFTEN STARTS WITH CONTACT FROM A STRANGER" and that transactions are irreversible; a receipt, physical when possible.
• Full refund for a fraudulently induced transaction when the consumer reports to you and a government or law enforcement agency within 90 calendar days, with proof.
• Live customer service at least Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the toll-free number on the kiosk; blockchain analytics, a law enforcement contact and a compliance officer.

Sources: Iowa Code § 533C.1004 (2026) · Iowa SF 2296 (2026), enrolled

Also in the law, and recent changes

• Give the Division a list of street addresses of all your Iowa kiosks and update it within 30 calendar days of any change; the Division publishes the lists.
• If you let another person transact through your kiosk, you must ensure that person holds an Iowa money transmission license and complies with the charge rules and the rest of the section.

Sources: Iowa Code ch. 533C (2026)

Enforcement and lawsuits

• 2025-02-26: the Attorney General sued Bitcoin Depot (Bitcoin Depot Operating LLC and Lux Vending LLC) and CoinFlip (GPD Holdings LLC) under the Consumer Fraud Act in Polk County District Court, alleging Iowans sent more than $20 million to scammers through their kiosks in under 3 years.

Practical hurdles

• The AG subpoenaed 14 kiosk companies in its investigation and says it is ongoing; its petition says Bitcoin Depot ran about 118 Iowa kiosks only until 2024-07-26.
• The AG publishes a crypto ATM law FAQ and takes refund complaints (cryptoscam@ag.iowa.gov).
• Scam pressure context: FBI IC3 counted 90 crypto-kiosk complaints from this state in 2025 with $2,895,158 in adjusted losses (FBI notes losses may include non-kiosk transactions).

What we couldn't confirm

• Current status of the AG lawsuits (a Decrypt headline reports an Iowa court ruling for a Bitcoin ATM operator in a scam case; not opened).
• Whether IDOB money transmitter licensing goes through NMLS (not confirmed from an IDOB page).