This bill creates a new Washington law called the "Washington state employer-integrated wage access services act" by adding a new chapter to Title 31 RCW and amending RCW 31.04.015 and 31.04.025. It establishes a licensing and regulatory regime, effective July 1, 2026, for businesses that provide employer‑integrated earned wage access services (distinct from consumer‑directed wage access, which remains under chapter 31.04 RCW). The law exempts traditional banks, credit unions, and certain other entities and makes unlicensed offers or activity subject to consumer refunds and renders outstanding proceeds uncollectable. The act creates detailed licensing procedures and conditions: applications must be filed through the nationwide mortgage licensing system or a director‑prescribed form, include officer/principal information and fingerprints for criminal background checks, and be accompanied by investigation and license fees set by rule. Applicants must maintain a continuous surety bond of at least $50,000 (with the director empowered to set methods and higher amounts based on prior volume and other criteria). Licensees must file annual and other reports, preserve transaction records for six years, submit transaction and consumer data to a common real‑time database before entering transactions, and pay an annual assessment and per‑transaction database fees; the director may adopt rules and collect fees sufficient to cover administration costs. The bill adds enforcement and remedial tools and penalties: the director of the Department of Financial Institutions may examine licensees, compel records and testimony, issue subpoenas (with court approval procedures), impose fines up to $100 per day per violation, order refunds or restitution (including fees, subscriptions, tips, gratuities, donations and voluntary contributions obtained in violation), suspend or revoke licenses, remove individuals from participation, and issue immediate temporary cease‑and‑desist orders with prompt hearings. It establishes a gross misdemeanor for failure to perform a duty under the chapter where no penalty is otherwise prescribed, governs proceedings under the Administrative Procedure Act, authorizes recovery of enforcement costs and attorneys’ fees, and provides for automatic suspension/reinstatement in certain child support noncompliance cases. Important details are not present in the extracted text: the specific amendments to RCW 31.04.015 and 31.04.025 are not shown, the exact formula or rule methodology for calculating bond amounts and annual assessments is not provided, amounts for investigation and license fees are left to rulemaking, and penalty provisions referenced in the bill are not fully included here.

If enacted, businesses that advance earned wages based on employer payroll or attendance data will need a state license starting July 1, 2026, and must meet new background check, bonding, reporting, and fee rules. Companies will face upfront application and investigation fees, a continuing minimum surety bond of at least $50,000 scaled to prior-year transaction volume, annual assessments, routine examinations with cost recovery, six-year record retention, and sworn annual reports by March 1 (late filings carry a $50/day penalty). Consumer protections tighten: providers may only collect up to $5 per advance and $10 per consumer per month, the director can force refunds or restitution for violations (including making unlicensed fees uncollectable and refundable), and the agency can suspend, revoke, or fine licensees up to $100 per day per violation. The parties most affected are employer-integrated wage access providers (higher compliance costs, new limits on revenue per customer, increased regulatory risk) and consumers (greater reporting, caps on charges, and stronger refund remedies); employers, sureties, and the Department of Financial Institutions will also take on new roles. Important specifics remain unclear from the provided text—exact fee and assessment amounts, the rule formula for setting bond levels, the full list of exemptions referenced elsewhere in the act, and certain penalty details are left to director rulemaking or other sections not included here—so additional operating costs and obligations will become clearer only after those rules and provisions are published.