Stablecoin payments company Transac has secured new state money transmitter licenses (MTLs) in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Carolina, Vermont, and Pennsylvania, expanding its U.S. footprint as regulatory fragmentation continues to define how crypto payment companies operate across the country, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Tuesday.
With this approval, Transac has been approved in 11 states, including Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, and Missouri. Each license allows the company to legally process stablecoin transactions, transfer funds, and facilitate fiat-to-crypto conversion directly with users, without relying on intermediaries.
In the United States, MTL allows companies to process customer funds, perform transfers of value, and act as regulated financial intermediaries under state supervision.
“All of the new licenses we have secured move us closer to a future where users can seamlessly and legally move between fiat and digital assets,” said Brian Keene, Transac’s Head of Compliance for the Americas.
A fragmented path to stablecoin compliance
While the license expands Transac’s direct reach, it also highlights the complexity of the U.S. regulatory landscape for crypto payment providers.
In the European Union, the Cryptoassets Market Regulation (MiCA) framework allows companies to “passport” a single crypto license to all 27 member states.
This means that companies licensed in one member state can automatically operate between member states without having to reapply for authorization in each jurisdiction.
This model creates a unified market for cryptographic services, simplifying compliance and reducing costs compared to the state-by-state approach in the United States.
In the United States, companies must secure a separate MTL for each state in which they operate.
This means that crypto payment providers may require 50 separate applications, each with their own requirements, schedules, and fees, resulting in a patchwork of approvals and making nationwide coverage expensive and time-consuming.
For Transak, its direct licensing efforts began in 2024 when it received its first state-level MTL in Alabama. The license allows the company to operate in the state without relying on third-party providers.
Although Transak can reach users in 46 states through its partners, Transak’s move toward full licensing signals a deliberate move toward a native, regulated payments stack.
Transac covers the whole country
Keene told Cointelegraph that the state approval is less about expanding access and more about increasing regulatory control.
“The state licenses we have secured now do not expand access, but strengthen regulatory controls. This gives us more flexibility to innovate with future stablecoin use cases and new payment flow architectures,” he told Cointelegraph.
Keene added that Transac currently has license applications pending in 19 additional states and aims to directly cover all 50 states within the next 12 to 18 months.
He told Cointelegraph that the company remains optimistic about federal stablecoin legislation, noting that clear standards will benefit users and infrastructure providers.
“Any framework that defines how regulated stablecoins can be issued, held, and used is a net positive,” he said, warning that harmonizing federal and state rules could take years.
Until then, Transac plans to continue building within a patchwork of existing state frameworks, rather than waiting for full clarity from the federal government.
Related: Bank of England begins stablecoin consultation, plans final rules in 2026
Trasak bets on increasing adoption of stablecoins
On August 6th, Transak became the first US cryptocurrency adopter to enable wire transfers. This allows cryptocurrency users to replenish their cryptocurrency accounts via wire transfer.
The company is preparing to launch Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments (interbank transfers used for direct deposits) to speed up bank transfers for Americans, according to a company press release.
Transac also said the new license is part of its mission to make stablecoin payments “available at scale.” The company said additional MTL applications are underway to lay the foundation for nationwide access to the stablecoin.
Transak added that the compliance drive will ensure that developers, enterprises, and users can participate in the next wave of cross-border payments leveraging stablecoins within a legal framework.
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