West Virginia Code 31A-8G-5 – Additional consumer protections; disclosures
(a) Before providing an innovative product or service to a consumer, a regulatory sandbox participant shall disclose the following to the consumer:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 31A-8G-5
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Consumer: means a person that purchases or otherwise enters into a transaction or agreement to receive an innovative product or service that is being tested by a regulatory sandbox participant. See West Virginia Code 31A-8G-2
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- division: means the Division of Banking of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 31A-1-2
- Innovative product or service: means a financial product or service that includes an innovation. See West Virginia Code 31A-8G-2
- Regulatory sandbox participant: means a person whose application to participate in the regulatory sandbox program is approved in accordance with the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 31A-8G-2
- Regulatory sandbox program: means the West Virginia FinTech Regulatory Sandbox Program created by this article, which allows a person to temporarily test an innovative product or service on a limited basis without otherwise being licensed or authorized to act under the laws of the state. See West Virginia Code 31A-8G-2
- Regulatory sandbox testing period: means a 24-month period beginning on the date an applicant is admitted to the regulatory sandbox program. See West Virginia Code 31A-8G-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Test: means to provide an innovative product or service in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 31A-8G-2
(1) The name and contact information of the regulatory sandbox participant;
(2) That the innovative product or service is authorized pursuant to the regulatory sandbox program and, if applicable, that the regulatory sandbox participant does not have a license or other authorization to provide a product or service under state laws that regulate products or services outside the regulatory sandbox program;
(3) That the innovative product or service is undergoing testing, may not function as intended, and may expose the consumer to financial risk;
(4) That the provider of the innovative product or service is not immune from civil liability for any losses or damages caused by the innovative product or service;
(5) That the state does not endorse or recommend the innovative product or service;
(6) That the innovative product or service is a temporary test that may be discontinued at the conclusion of the regulatory sandbox testing period;
(7) The expected end date of the regulatory sandbox testing period; and
(8) That a consumer may contact the Division of Financial Institutions to file a complaint regarding the innovative product or service being tested and provide the Division of Financial Institution’s telephone number and website address where a complaint may be filed.
(b) The disclosures required by subsection (a) of this section shall be provided to a consumer in a clear and conspicuous form and, for an internet or application-based innovative product or service, a consumer shall acknowledge receipt of the disclosure before a transaction may be completed.
(c) The Division of Financial Institutions may investigate all consumer complaints made against a regulatory sandbox participant pursuant to subsection (a) of this section: Provided, That the consumer making the complaint was directly provided the innovative product or service by the regulatory sandbox participant, and the innovative product or service was provided in the course of participation in the regulatory sandbox program.
(d) The Division of Financial Institutions may require that a regulatory sandbox participant make additional disclosures to a consumer.