Payment Service Providers Now to Comply with Two New Information Regimes

On February 15, 2023, the Argentine Central Bank (BCRA) issued Communique “A” 7699, establishing that payment service providers offering payment accounts (PSPCP) and those performing the initiation function (PSI) and providing digital wallet services are liable parties subject to complying (SO) with the Information Regime of Claims. Likewise, the Communique included PSPCPs as SOs of the Transparency Information Regime, Chapter II.

This adjustment is closely related to Communique “A” 7593, through which the  BCRA established PSPCPs and PSIs as subjects bound to comply with the regulations on protection of financial services users (PUF). Following said regulation, they must keep -–among others– an internally Centralized Registry of Queries and Claims. Both information regimes were already in force for financial entities, non-financial companies acting as credit cards issuers, and other non-financial credit providers, all of them bound to comply with PUF regulations.

Since they are now subject to the Information Regime of Claims, PSPCPs and PSIs must inform on a monthly basis every claim arising from the internal registry, and classify the claims according to the following items pre-established by the BCRA:

1. Stock of cases at the beginning of the reporting period.
2. Number of cases admitted on the reporting period.
3. Number of cases solved during the reporting period. Within this particular item, the following must be informed as well:
   • Average time of resolution, expressed in number of days.
   • Number of cases solved according to the user’s petition.
   • Number of cases solved against the user’s petition.

On the other hand, Chapter II of the Transparency Information Regime, “Commissions, charges and rates segment for financial services users”, is divided in four sections. PSPCPs must only comply with two: section B –which must be informed on a monthly basis–, and section D –which is informed according to the “type of novelty”–. 

Section B, “Full pricelist information”, must detail information on the fees for commissions and charges of the products and/or services offered to financial services users. Thus, the section must contain mainly:

1. Name of the entity.
2. Month of validity of the pricelist.
3. Fees.
4. Price increases notified to customers.

Through section D, "Notification of fees modifications", the increases and/or reductions in fees and the registration of commissions for new products and/or services seeking to be marketed must be documented. Any variation on the charges must be notified through that same means.