Financial institutions must refinance automatically unpaid credit card balances to a one-year term, with a three-month grace period, in 9 equal and consecutive monthly installments, at a 43% APR. Customers who choose not to pay the full amount due will not be required to make any procedures to access this benefit.
Credit card bills due between March 20 and April 12 were extended to April 13, without accruing compensatory interest, as stated in a communication by the BCRA.
The BCRA established under Communication A 6964 that unpaid credit card bills falling due as from April 13 to April 30 should be automatically refinanced. The account holder does not need to make any request.
Issuing banks must offer a three-month grace period, and 9 fixed installments. These installments will start to be paid in August at a value of ARS147 for every ARS1,000 refinanced.
These refinanced balances can be partially or totally paid in advance, at any time and at no cost, except for the compensatory interest accrued up to the time of payment, when the customer so requires.
It should be noted that direct debits and automatic debits in the same financial institution may be reversed at the customer’s request within 30 calendar days from the debit date, and financial institutions must reimburse the amounts claimed within three business days from the date the debit is requested.
The circular of the BCRA also established a reduction of 43% (currently set at 49%) effective as from April 13, 2020, of the annual percentage rate for compensatory interest that financial institutions may charge for credit cards’ financed balances, so as to ensure that such rate is aligned with the policy rate.
The BCRA adopted a policy to reduce interest rates to finance credit card balances. In March, a 55% cap was set, then it decreased to 49% and today it is 43%, removing late payment fees.
