Notice of Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking
  Money Order Dormancy Fees
 
Petitioner: MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc., and The Western Union Company
 
Take notice that on July 14, 2009, the Division of Consumer Affairs (Division) received a petition for rulemaking from MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc. and its predecessors and affiliates ( MPSI ), by Lonnie Keene, Chief Compliance Officer and The Western Union Company and its predecessors and affiliates, (Western Union), by Francis Aaron Henry, Assistant General Counsel. The petitioners request:
 
1. A rulemaking process pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:14B-4 and N.J.A.C. 13:1D to adopt a rule specifying the circumstances under which retroactive calculation of money order inactivity fees is permitted by N.J.S.A. 56:8-182, which was enacted on January 13, 2008 and applies to money orders sold in New Jersey after April 12, 2008.
 
2. A rulemaking process pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:14B-4 to amend N.J.A.C. 18:13 -3.2 to harmonize it with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 56:8-182.
 
MPSI and Western Union petition the Division "to adopt a [rule] to clarify that dormancy fees imposed in accordance with [ N.J.S.A. 56:8-182] may be accrued retroactively to the date of issuance of a money order once the 12-month Initial Period under [ N.J.S.A. 56:8-182] has lapsed."
 
The purpose of the petitioners' request is to confirm through a Division rule "that issuers of money orders in New Jersey may continue to administer money order inactivity fees, consistent with current industry and regulatory standards, by determining such fees on a retroactive basis after a 12-month initial period has expired." Otherwise, "issuers of money orders in New Jersey could be required to charge higher initial transaction fees in order to maintain current returns on capital. . . . The rule would maintain reduced costs for the majority of the petitioners' New Jersey customers whose money orders are cashed in a timely manner and help maintain the petitioners' current dormancy fee rates."
 
n accordance with N.J.A.C. 1:30-4.2, the Division shall subsequently mail to the petitioners, and file with the Office of Administrative Law, a notice of action on the petition.