Notice No. 13/GBM/2017 of June 8 – Regime of Commissions and Charges on Financial Services and Respective Nomenclature

Banco de Moçambique Governor

NOTICE NO. 13/GBM/2017 Maputo, June 8, 2017

SUBJECT: Regime of Commissions and Charges on Financial Services and Respective Nomenclature

The Strategy for the Development of the Financial Sector (2013-2022) has selected, among its strategic objectives, the improvement of access to financial services and support for inclusive growth. Indeed, the promotion of financial inclusion involves, among other actions, reducing costs (commissions and charges) for users of financial services, as well as promoting financial education.

Accordingly, given the need to (i) adjust the regime for free financial services, (ii) establish a common nomenclature for financial services, and (iii) strengthen the information duties of credit institutions and financial companies, thereby enabling clients to compare commissions and charges for provided services and their respective conditions, as well as promoting transparency and competition in the financial system, the Bank of Mozambique, exercising the powers conferred upon it by Article 44 and paragraph 4 of Article 45 of Law No. 15/99 of November 1, as amended by Law No. 9/2004 of July 21 – the Credit Institutions and Financial Companies Law, as well as by paragraph (d) of paragraph 2 of Article 37 of Law No. 1/92 of January 3 – the Organic Law of the Bank of Mozambique, determines:

1. The Regime of Commissions and Charges on Financial Services and Respective Nomenclature, attached to this Notice, is hereby approved, forming an integral part thereof.
2. This Notice enters into force on the date of its publication and revokes Notice No. 5/GBM/2009 of June 10.

[Signature] Rogério Lucas Zandamela Governor

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REGIME OF COMMISSIONS AND CHARGES ON FINANCIAL SERVICES AND RESPECTIVE NOMENCLATURE

CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 Object

This Notice establishes: a) The legal regime for commissions and charges for the provision of financial services, including their common nomenclature; b) Free financial services; c) The requirements to be observed by credit institutions and financial companies when disclosing commissions, charges, and other conditions for the provision of financial services to the public.

Article 2 Scope of Application

1. This Notice applies to credit institutions and financial companies, hereinafter referred to as "institutions", according to the type of services they provide.
2. Payment service providers and other entities authorized under applicable legislation are also subject to this Notice.

Article 3 Definitions

For the purposes of this Notice, the following are considered: a) Economic agent: an individual or legal entity that carries out an economic activity; b) Complaint handling: the processing by credit institutions and financial companies, payment service providers, or the Bank of Mozambique of complaints received from the public, in accordance with applicable legislation; c) ATM (Automated Teller Machine): the automated teller machine that allows banking operations to be carried out using bank cards and other applicable forms, in accordance with paragraph (a) of Article 3 of Notice No. 1/GBM/2014 of June 4 – Bank Card Regulation; d) Client: the person to whom a specific financial service is provided; e) Commissions: the amounts charged to clients by credit institutions, financial companies, and payment service providers as remuneration for services provided or products supplied within their activities; f) Charges: the amounts due to public and private entities, namely taxes, fees, and other counterpayments fixed by law or service provision and goods supply contracts, charged to clients by credit institutions, financial companies, and payment service providers; g) Credit institutions: the companies specified in paragraphs (a) to (h) of Article 3 of Law No. 15/99 of November 1, as amended by Law No. 9/2004 of July 21 – the Credit Institutions and Financial Companies Law, whose activity consists of receiving deposits or other refundable funds from the public, when the legal regime for each expressly permits it, in order to invest them at their own risk by granting credit; h) Remote communication means: any communication medium that can be used to conclude contracts for the supply of products and provision of electronic payment services, and/or to carry out banking operations without the simultaneous physical presence of the credit institution, financial company or payment service provider and the user of the product or electronic payment service, namely payment channel, as defined in paragraph (e) of Article 3 of Notice No. 2/GBM/2014 of December 31 – Regulation on Procedures for the Provision of Electronic Payment Products and Services; i) POS (Point of Sale): the automatic payment terminal that allows the use of bank cards to make payments or other applicable banking operations, in accordance with paragraph (s) of Article 3 of Notice No. 1/GBM/2014 of June 4; j) Complete price list: the set of information regarding all commissions and charges made available to the public by credit institutions, financial companies, and payment service providers; k) Simplified price list: the set of information regarding part of the commissions and charges contained in the complete price list made available to the public by credit institutions, financial companies, and payment service providers; l) Payment service provider: an institution authorized under the law to provide payment services, in accordance with paragraph (s) of the glossary annexed to Law No. 2/2008 of February 27 – the National Payment System Law; m) Misleading advertising: the provision or omission of any information that, in any way, including its presentation and due to its misleading nature, induces or may induce error in its recipients or may harm a competitor; n) Financial services: all services provided by credit institutions and financial companies, regardless of their nature, the nomenclature of which is contained in the annex to this Notice; o) Free financial services: the set of financial services on which the charging of commissions to individuals and single-member companies is prohibited; p) Financial companies: companies that are not credit institutions and whose main activity consists of carrying out one or more of the activities referred to in paragraphs (b) and (g) of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Credit Institutions and Financial Companies Law.

CHAPTER II COMMISSIONS, CHARGES AND RESPECTIVE NOMENCLATURE

Article 4 Price List

1. Institutions must maintain a simplified price list and a complete price list, containing true, objective, updated information expressed in clear language.
2. The Bank of Mozambique defines, by Circular, the models for the simplified and complete price lists, as well as their respective filling instructions.

Article 5 Predictability

1. The charging of commissions and charges arising from the provision of financial services by institutions must be stipulated in the contract concluded between the institution and the client, or the service must have been previously authorized or requested by the client in a document equivalent to said contract, which may be a specific form of the institution, prepared according to the type of operation.
2. Institutions may only charge their clients commissions and charges that are expressly stipulated in the price list they make available to the public, in accordance with this Notice, without prejudice to the freedom of negotiation of said price list between the parties, provided it results in greater benefit for the client.

Article 6 Common Nomenclature of Commissions and Charges

1. Institutions must adopt a common nomenclature for all commissions and charges charged for financial services provided or financial products supplied to clients, in accordance with the price list models contained in the Circular issued by the Bank of Mozambique.
2. Institutions are prohibited from: a) Assigning designations for financial services different from those contained in the nomenclature defined by the Bank of Mozambique and referred to in the preceding paragraph; and b) Assigning different characteristics to financial services that result in more restrictive conditions for their use or are contrary to those established in this Notice.

Article 7 Free Financial Services

1. The following are free financial services: a) Regarding deposit accounts: (i) Opening of a bank account or establishment of a bank deposit; (ii) Maintenance of the bank account; (iii) Inactivity of a bank account for a period of 12 months; (iv) Failure to maintain the minimum balance in current deposit accounts; (v) Provision of a monthly account statement for the last thirty days, counted from the date of request; (vi) Closure of a bank account; (vii) Balance inquiry, four times per month, at the counter; (viii) Transaction history inquiry, four times per month, at the counter. b) Regarding deposits and withdrawals: (i) Cash deposit, in national and foreign currency; (ii) Check deposits, in national and foreign currency; and (iii) Cash withdrawal, in national currency, at the counter. c) Regarding bank cards: (i) Normal first issuance of a debit card; and (ii) Alert messages, within the country. d) Regarding operations performed on ATMs, internet banking, mobile banking, POS and other electronic channels: (i) Balance inquiry, without printing; (ii) NIB or IBAN inquiry, without printing; (iii) Inquiry of statements, mini-statements and transactions, without printing, on ATMs and POS; (iv) First four prints per month of balance on ATM and POS; (v) First four prints per month of transactions on ATM; (vi) First four prints per month of statements and mini-statements on ATM and POS; (vii) First four withdrawals per month, on ATM; (viii) First four PIN changes per month. e) Regarding POS and other electronic means: use of bank cards for the payment of goods and services. f) Regarding checks: (i) Withdrawal of national currency with a standard check at the bank branch counter; (ii) Return to the beneficiary of a check that does not meet the conditions for payment; and (iii) Cancellation or revocation of a check. g) Regarding transfers between accounts within the same institution: (i) Making two transfers per month, at the counter and on ATM; and (ii) Making one transfer per day, via internet banking, mobile banking and other electronic channels. h) Regarding direct debits and standing orders: request or authorization to make direct debits or standing orders. i) Regarding electronic money: (i) Account opening; (ii) Issuance of electronic money; (iii) PIN change; (iv) Account maintenance; (v) Account closure; (vi) Balance inquiry, once per day; (vii) First transaction history inquiry per day; (viii) Account inactivity, when it shows a balance of less than 20.00 MT for a period of up to 6 months. j) Regarding credit operations: (i) Credit simulation; and (ii) Pre-contractual information on approved conditions.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, institutions may, if they wish, provide other financial services free of charge.
3. The list of free financial services provided in paragraph 1 of this article may, when justified by the circumstances, be updated by the Bank of Mozambique.

Article 8 Prohibition of Charging Commissions via Diverse Mechanisms

Institutions are prohibited from configuring their software applications to charge commissions not stipulated via diverse mechanisms, namely: a) Automating the printing of inquiries for transaction history or deposit account balances, which leads to the charging of commissions on ATMs and POS; b) Preventing the simple viewing of balances and/or other free services on ATM and POS screens.

Article 9 Charging of Commissions, Charges and Additional Values for POS Use

1. Institutions must ensure that economic agents contracting POS services: a) Do not charge additional values to the effective prices of goods and services paid by clients for the use of bank cards on POS; b) Do not charge commissions for free financial services provided through POS.
2. Institutions must also provide and ensure that economic agents display and maintain in their establishments, in a highly visible location directly accessible to clients, information regarding: a) The free use of bank cards on POS; b) The logos of accepted bank card brands for conducting operations on POS.
3. In case of violation of the provisions in the preceding paragraphs by economic agents, institutions must: a) Notify them in writing, with proof of receipt, to cease the said practice immediately; b) Terminate the use contract and remove the POS if, after notification, the charging of commissions, charges or additional values does not cease; and c) Report the facts referred to in the preceding paragraph to the Bank of Mozambique, via the electronic address “RegimeDeComissões@bancomoc.mz”.
4. Institutions report to the Bank of Mozambique, within the timeframe and in the manner determined by it, all cases of non-compliance by economic agents.
5. The Bank of Mozambique records in a database the non-compliance situations reported pursuant to the preceding paragraph.

Article 10 Contracting of POS and Other Electronic Channels

1. The use of POS and other electronic channels by economic agents is subject to the conclusion of a written contract, which may take the form of an adhesion contract.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 9 of this Notice, the contract referred to in the preceding paragraph must contain, at minimum, the general contracting and use conditions for POS, established by the Bank of Mozambique.
3. The Bank of Mozambique establishes by Circular the general contracting and use conditions for POS.

CHAPTER III INFORMATION DUTIES

Article 11 General Information Duty

1. Institutions and payment service providers must provide, clearly, information regarding all financial services made available to the public, including free ones, namely their characteristics, general access conditions, benefits, applicable commissions and charges, as well as associated risks.
2. The information referred to in the preceding paragraph, including clarifications related to financial services requested by the client, must be provided prior to contracting said services or at the time of their effective provision.
3. Institutions and payment service providers must, whenever they make changes to commissions and conditions within contracts concluded with clients, communicate the content of these changes to their respective clients, at least 15 days prior to the intended date of application.

Article 12 Information Duty in Remote Communication Means

1. Institutions providing financial services through remote communication means, namely internet banking, mobile phones and ATMs, must ensure that clients can, before use, consult on the screen the commissions, charges and their respective general conditions of use, in the applicable medium, as well as have the option to accept or cancel the continued use without needing to state a reason.
2. A client who, through remote communication means, has subscribed to or requested a financial service may, at any time, demand that the institution provide them in writing with the respective general conditions of use.

Article 13 Free Provision of Information and Complaint Handling Services

Institutions are prohibited from charging commissions for fulfilling the information duty, namely: a) Provision of any information to the client or the public; b) Handling of complaints or requests for information; and c) Provision of complaint forms or forms for other information requests.

Article 14 Duty of Disclosure

1. Institutions must permanently maintain, in all their branches and public service locations, in a highly visible and directly accessible place, namely an easy-to-use consultation device on paper or electronic screen, the simplified price list.
2. Institutions must also make available the complete price list for consultation in all branches and public service locations.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, institutions with internet pages must make available the simplified price list and a hyperlink to access the complete price list, as well as general access conditions, in a highly visible, directly accessible and easily identifiable location, without the need for prior registration for consultation by interested parties.
4. Institutions are also obliged to publish the simplified price list, in the first half of April each year, in one of the country's most widely circulated newspapers.
5. Changes to the price lists referred to in the preceding paragraphs must be disclosed within 15 calendar days from the date of the Bank of Mozambique's pronouncement, in accordance with Article 15 of this Notice.
6. The complete and updated price list is also published on the Bank of Mozambique's webpage, with institutions being responsible, before the Bank of Mozambique and third parties, for the veracity and currency of the information contained therein.
7. The Bank of Mozambique establishes by Circular the procedures for disclosing the information referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Article 15 Duty of Communication to the Bank of Mozambique

1. Whenever institutions wish to introduce new financial services and their respective commissions and charges, or make changes to price lists, they must previously communicate the fact to the Bank of Mozambique.
2. The communication referred to in the preceding paragraph must be accompanied by documents supporting the proposal for new financial services, commissions and charges, including a demonstration of the criteria used in determining the values.
3. The Bank of Mozambique issues a ruling, within 15 calendar days from the date of receipt of the communication proposing the introduction of new services, commissions and charges, whenever there is an inconsistency between the proposal for introducing new services, commissions and charges and the supporting arguments presented.

Article 16 Advertising of Commissions, Charges and Financial Services

1. All advertising actions carried out by institutions, regardless of their nature, must be prepared in accordance with the general principles of legality, truthfulness, objectivity and clarity, and must not mislead the public.
2. The promotion of misleading advertising by institutions regarding commissions, charges and financial services offered to the public is prohibited and subject to sanctions, in accordance with applicable legislation.

CHAPTER IV TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 17 Compliance Period

Institutions must, within 90 days from the date of entry into force of this Notice: a) Adjust the designations of commissions and charges for the provision of financial services to the public to the common nomenclature defined by the Bank of Mozambique; b) Conform their acts, procedures and software applications to the provisions contained in this Notice.

Article 18 Sanctioning Regime

Violation of the provisions in this Notice constitutes a regulatory offense punishable under the Credit Institutions and Financial Companies Law and other applicable legislation.

Article 19 Clarification of Doubts

Doubts arising from the interpretation and application of this Notice shall be submitted to the Payment Systems Department of the Bank of Mozambique.