Electronic means of payment (MEP)
The Electronic Means of Payment (MEP) is the real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) developed and managed by the BCRA since 1997. It allows electronic funds transfers between the participants of the national payment system, directly through their accounts held at the BCRA and with real-time information on available balances.
What is the MEP and how does it work?
The MEP is a real-time gross settlement system that processes bilateral transactions. These transactions are debited and credited to the participants’ accounts at the BCRA.
– Operating hours: from 8 am to 8 pm for regular transactions.
– It is available from 7:30 am for clearing balances derived from transfers of CEDIP certificates.
– Each transaction is immediately reflected in both the originator’s and the recipient’s accounts, and the participating institutions have real-time information on the available funds.
When a transfer is sent from the participating body or institution:
– The instruction is generated and authorized within the participant’s environment.
– The MEP receives it at the BCRA and performs a series of validation checks, including the verification of available balances.
– The order is accepted only if there are sufficient funds in the originator’s account.
– Otherwise, the transaction is rejected, and the participant must resubmit it when sufficient funds become available or else reorder its submissions according to its available balance, since the system does not manage automatic queues.
The transactions accepted by the system, after validation checks have been successfully completed, are irrevocable.
MEP participants
The following may participate in the MEP by signing the relevant agreements:
– Banks and finance companies.
– Automated clearing houses.
– Foreign exchange traders.
Other bodies and entities, such as:
– Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos SA.
– A3 Mercados SA.
– Caja de Valores SA.
– Argentina Clearing y Registro SA.
– Settlement and clearing agents (agentes de liquidación y control, ALYCs).
– The Argentine Social Security Administration (Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social, ANSES) and other public or private legal entities.
All of them take part under specific accession agreements and remain subject to the BCRA’s regulations.
Accession and applicable regulations
To operate in the MEP:
– Financial institutions and other legal entities must sign a mutual accession agreement with the BCRA and comply with the specific National Payment System – Electronic Means of Payment (MEP) regulations.
– Access to and use of the system is carried out in accordance with the access profile defined for each participant and with the operational and security scheme provided for in the regulations.
Through the MEP, an authorized participant can:
– Transfer funds to other participating institutions or entities, or to the BCRA.
– Directly affect the balance of its account at the BCRA.
Irrevocable nature and duties
The transfers that are accepted by the BCRA within the framework of the MEP:
– Comply with the validation checks regarding formalities, balance and security provided for in the regulations.
– Are not revocable.
A participating institution or entity:
– May not repudiate funds transfer instructions generated against its account with the BCRA when such instructions have been processed in accordance with the arrangements established for the MEP.
– May not refuse incoming transfers credited to its account, provided that they have been made in accordance with the applicable regulations.
International standards applicable to the MEP
The MEP is a systemically important financial market infrastructure. Accordingly, it is subject to the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI), published by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures of the Bank for International Settlements and the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
Within this framework, the BCRA conducts and publishes a self-assessment of the MEP’s level of compliance with these principles.