The Argentine Central Bank Allowed Financial Entities to Delegate Services in Non-Financial Commercial Entities and Other Agencies

On November 28, the Argentine Central Bank (the "Central Bank") issued Communique "A" 6603 which, together with Communique "A" 6612, incorporated a new section to the regulations on “Expansion of Financial Entities”, allowing for the delegation of activities to non-financial commercial entities.

These new regulations continue with the line adopted by the Argentine Central Bank with the aim of incorporating new business models for the financial sector (see “New Regulation Implementing the Mobile Payment Platform” in Marval News # 162, “New Regulations towards a Digitalized Financial Sector” in Marval News # 165, and “The Central Bank Implemented a New Online Immediate Debit Payment Service” in Marval News # 168, among others).

The Argentine Central Bank incorporated into its regulatory framework the possibility of financial entities delegating to non-financial commercial entities (the “Agencies”) activities related to the attention to clients and the general public with their own personnel and/or technical resources, subject to their compliance with specific conditions determined for each case (i.e. contracts with minimum contents, prior communication, among others).

The Agencies may consist of individuals or legal entities located in Argentina, and may operate in one or more locations within the country. Their main corporate purpose must be commercial, while the provision of financial services —delegated by financial institutions— must be a secondary activity.

Each Agency may perform delegated activities for several financial entities, but must implement proper measures to ensure a clear differentiation between the services delegated by each entity.

Among other activities, the Argentine Central Bank determined that financial entities may delegate the implementation of all active, passive and service operations performed with their customers, such as:

• opening, operating and closing accounts;
• cash deposits and withdrawals;
• collections of installments from loans, credit cards, services, taxes, fees, contributions and other similar concepts;
• payment of pension benefits and social security benefits; and
• purchase and sale of foreign currency.

These regulations respond to the objective of promoting financial inclusion, as well as allowing banks to adapt their business models to the new demands of the market.