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Payment System

What is it

The Payment System (SP) is made up of instruments, procedures and methods of transferring funds whose purpose is to guarantee the circulation of money between the participants of the banking system, financial and other participating organizations.

In our country, it is structured through the Electronic Means of Payment (MEP) administered by this Central Bank. It channels interbank market and monetary policy operations.

Its objectives are:

  • Reduce the costs of the banking/financial system
  • Improve security, speed and certainty in payments and settlement of transactions
  • Optimize the economic flow between entities
  • Improve the supervision of Central Banks on the clearing of means of payment

MEP participants:

  • Banks
  • Private Electronic Clearing Houses (CECs): low-value electronic clearing houses, high-value electronic clearing houses and clearing terms
  • Exchange Houses
  • Other agencies: such as the Buenos Aires Stock Market SA (MERVAL), the National Social Security Administration, and the Post Office

How it works

Financial institutions and other authorized agencies maintain current accounts in the MEP to carry out transactions between the participants of this system and, in the middle of the operating cycle, the MEP settles the net balances of compensation.

While the BCRA mainly concentrates real-time interbank fund transfer operations through the MEP, the electronic clearing houses especially process checks, transfers, direct debits and the balances resulting from ATM and credit card networks. On the other hand, the operating scheme of the ATM networks provides for the cancellation of balances of transactions between entities associated with them through the low-value electronic camera.

The settlement of the chambers is executed via the MEP through their current accounts at the BCRA. The balances are settled by the clearing houses and the participants, who transfer the funds through these accounts via the MEP. Banks with debit balances transfer funds to the vaults’ accounts, and the chambers, in turn, transfer the funds to the banks with net credit positions.

Instruments

The netting instruments are:

The BCRA is also part of two regional agreements with other central banks, from which two cross-border payment systems are created: ALADI (See List of entities authorized to operate the ALADI Agreement) and Local Currency Payment System (SML).

New Payment Methods

During 2016, measures were implemented to increase and facilitate electronic operations in order to eliminate the use of cash and allow the user of financial services to operate without the need to go to a bank branch.

These measures speed up and facilitate banking transactions for financial users, within a framework of security and efficiency.

With regard to immediate transfers of funds, it was decided to raise the maximum amount for electronic transfers free of charge; and absolute free of charge was established regardless of the amount transferred, in the case of individual users. In the case of companies, the amount from which transfers can be collected was raised to $250,000 – accumulated daily – .

Mobile Payment Platform (PPM)

This new payment channel through which financial institutions must offer the Immediate Electronic Payment (PEI) modality, allows payments to be made through the cell phone, tablet or mobile computer, with online debit and credit, anywhere and at no cost through three modalities: the Mobile POS and the Payment Button. modalities oriented to businesses and the Electronic Wallet, more functional for transfers between people.

  • 1. Mobile POS: it is a security device that connects to the mobile phone or tablet, to validate transactions through the payer’s debit card, allowing payment to be made at the point of sale, by immediate transfer at no additional cost, although the acquisition of the POS-Mobile security device may involve a one-time charge.
  • 2. Payment button: it is used for the purchase and sale of goods or services through the web and allows buyers to carry out their operations at virtual points of sale (e-commerce) through immediate transfers with debit in demand accounts.
    These buttons can be incorporated into the store’s website, integrated with different social networks or sent by email.
  • 3. Electronic Wallet allows you to send money between people through the web or through an application on your cell phone, at no cost. It is only necessary to download the app to the phone, and then upload the data corresponding to the bank account or the associated debit cards of different banks once.

To use the PEI modality through POS-Mobile and Payment Button, the business must be attached to a product/service within the Mobile Payment Platform (PPM). For example, Todo Pago M Pos by Red Banelco, Red MOB by Red Link. From the time of membership, the service provider or financial institution must provide you with an application that can be downloaded to your computers at no cost.

Once the application with which you are going to operate has been downloaded, if it additionally includes charges with a non-PEI credit or debit card, the business must add the PEI option as a means of payment (exclusively or not) so that the transactions made by this modality are free of charge for the seller.

Advantages

No type of commission is applicable to this operation, which is usually charged to businesses as stipulated in Law 25,065 in operations whose means of payment is a debit or credit card, since the means of payment is an immediate transfer.

In addition to facilitating payment transactions for products or services, using the Mobile POS and/or the Payment Button implies a free scheme for businesses, since this operation does not represent costs for businesses up to the amount of sales that reach, in the calendar month, one-twelfth of the maximum annual sales established in the BCRA regulations to be considered a microenterprise in the Services sector (currently established at $2,500,000).

That is, only from charges greater than $ 208,333 in the calendar month, operations may have a cost for businesses (to be determined between the business and financial institutions) while the acquisition of the POS-Mobile security device may incur a one-time charge.

Alias CBU

It allows the customer to assign an “alias” or nickname, between 6 and up to 20 characters, to each of their Uniform Bank Codes (CBU) of their accounts registered on their bank’s website. The alias is unique for each account and/or CBU and unrepeatable for the entire financial system, i.e., it can be linked to another CBU, after unlinking from the previous one.

The alias is portable so a bank customer can unlink their alias from one of their accounts and link it to another. No other user can use an alias that has already been used. The system is centrally managed, to avoid duplication and ensure the safety of operations, by the COELSA electronic clearing house.

Since February 2017, this same facility has been integrated into the operations used in the MEP that require this type of data, which now accept the CBU or the CBU alias indistinctly (Communication B11478).

As of June 1, all bank accounts will carry an alias. For this reason, an alias will be assigned by default to those that do not yet have one and to new accounts. The user may change, if they wish and when they so wish, through the electronic channels of the bank where they have the account (Communication A6215).

The default alias format will be a random combination of three short and frequently used words in Spanish and the assigned one can be consulted in your home banking.

Opening of Non-Face-to-Face Savings Banks

To encourage and facilitate the use of the available electronic means of payment, the possibility of opening savings accounts in a non-face-to-face manner by new customers was arranged.

Savings account in pesos for minors

The purpose of the savings bank in pesos for authorized minors is to facilitate daily economic operations, stimulate the financial education of young people and promote banking penetration through the use of electronic means of payment.

Immediate Debit (DEBIN)

This product, available in internet and mobile banking and in the other channels provided by the BCRA from time to time, will allow goods and/or services to be charged by debit “online” in the bank customer’s account once the operation has been authorized, with credit “online” in the account of the receiving customer. It is expected that from August 2017 it will be operational. The DEBIN requires the bank customer to authorize the operation. This is the substantial difference with direct debit, where the customer requests a financial institution to make direct debits to their account to pay services and taxes periodically.

In the DEBIN, the bank customer will receive a debit proposal from a third party, and in order to proceed with the online payment, they must register the payment authorization.

These measures seek to provide financial users with functionalities for the agile and simple performance of their banking transactions, within a framework of security and efficiency.v

Electronic Means of Payment

Modernizing the payment system contributes to improving the competitiveness of the economy and the generation of productive employment. Encouraging the massive use of electronic means of payment and facilitating their access to the entire population is important to enhance the benefits of banking penetration. It also contributes to hindering organized crime, drug trafficking and money laundering, as well as to formalizing the economy, which allows for more even and more moderate tax burdens.

In conjunction with its policy of deepening banking penetration, the BCRA regulated the free of charge of all transfers between individuals through home-banking and ATMs, and raised the amount from which banks can charge for transfers from companies to $250,000.

This monetary authority established that financial institutions must offer the modality of immediate transfers of funds (debit and credit online) through the channel.

Mobile Payment Platform (PPM)

This mechanism allows – having only a cell phone, tablet or laptop – to receive payments by immediate transfers anywhere, as long as the business previously adheres. To this end, the business must adhere to the Immediate Electronic Payment (PEI).

The customer (buyer) is allowed to make daily transfers for a total equivalent to a minimum living and mobile wage, and this limit may be exceeded if the entity in which the account is held implements complementary security measures.

The usual operation does not represent costs for businesses, up to the amount of sales that reaches -in the calendar month- one twelfth of the maximum annual sales established in the BCRA regulations to be considered a microenterprise in the Services sector.

That is, only from the charges higher than that amount in the calendar month, operations can have a cost for businesses. (to be determined between the merchant and the financial institutions).

It should be noted that the acquisition of the POS-Mobile security device may incur a one-time charge.

On the other hand, the functionality called “CBU alias” was created, available in Internet and mobile banking, which allows the banking customer to incorporate an alias to each of their Uniform Banking Codes (CBU) with an extension of up to 20 characters. Since February 2017, MEP operations have accepted the CBU code or the CBU alias indistinctly (Communication B11478)

Along these lines, another of the actions implemented was the regulation of the deposit of checks electronically, through which it is no longer required to present the physical check at the window or at an ATM for cashing. Financial Institutions must comply with the guidelines detailed in Communication A 6071 (for example, that checks deposited in this way contain the legend “electronically presented for collection” on both sides). In addition, they must comply with information security requirements.

A new product called Immediate Debit (DEBIN) was also created, available in internet banking, mobile banking, and in the other channels available from time to time by the BCRA, which will allow goods and/or services to be charged by online debit to the bank customer’s account once the operation has been authorized, with “online” credit to the receiving customer’s account. It is expected that from August 2017 it will be operational.

The BCRA is working on actions to facilitate the development of a broader and more modern payment ecosystem that facilitates competition.

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