Effective March 2010, the Director of Financial Institutions of Illinois offers a new kind of currency exchange bond that is available to certain enterprises that operate within the state. This bond has become increasingly relevant over recent years, as the Community Currency Exchange Association (CCEA) of Illinois currently boasts over 500 stores in 400 locations.

Enterprises working with the association primarily cash checks but also provide a wide array of other financial services to consumers. According to the association’s site, “currency exchanges cash over 25 million checks annually and issue more than 20 million money orders.” With this much currency being handled by exchange enterprises, the implementation of Illinois community currency exchange bonds could be considered inevitable to say the least.

The distinction between community currency exchange bonds and other surety bonds used for currency exchange services lies in the nature of the bond and its amount. Typically, surety providers can issue the required bond for individual exchanges in Illinois for a minimum amount of $10,000 each year. However, if the exchange belongs to a community association—like the CCEA—it does not have to file an individual bond as long as professionals can provide proof that the association they belong to has a blanket bond in a minimum amount of $2 million. This transfers bonding responsibilities—not to mention costs—to the associations.

In summary, the community currency exchange bond works similarly to other currency exchange bonds: by protecting against liability that could potentially be incurred by the exchange due to inappropriate financial mismanagement.

For more information on the legislation regarding the bond, look for section 5 of the Currency Exchange Act (205 ILCS 405). SuretyBonds.com offers the Illinois community currency exchange bond form on our Illinois surety bond page. Currencies.com can provide additional information on the nature of currency exchanges.