2016-03-08
The Bank of Cape Verde issued Notice No. 1/2013 to modernize the regulatory framework governing fee schedules and information disclosure for credit and para-banking institutions. The notice mandates standardized, transparent fee schedules comprising commission/expense and interest rate leaflets, which must be publicly accessible online and in branches. It establishes strict duties for institutions to provide prior cost information, assist clients during negotiations, prohibit unlisted or excessive commissions, and offer designated free banking services to enhance national financial inclusion.
Gabinete do Governador e dos Conselhos Avenida Amílcar Cabral • Caixa Postal 101 • Telefone (+238) 2607000 • Fax (+238) 2614447 • Praia – Cabo Verde www.bcv.cv Mod.Not.02 NOTICE ON FEE SCHEDULES Notice No. 1/2013 The commission charging regime for credit institutions was defined by the Bank of Cape Verde through Notice No. 5/94 of March 7. With the development of Cape Verde's banking sector, increasing complexity of financial products and services, and consequent growth in competition, there has been a persistent need to establish more specific, clear, and transparent rules, particularly regarding the fee schedules that credit and para-banking institutions must adopt, which includes guiding principles for charging commissions and expenses, as well as information regarding these charges and applicable interest rates and conventions. Indeed, the aim is to confer greater transparency to the rules governing fee schedules of credit and para-banking institutions, with the additional objective of providing financial consumers, at any stage of contracting, all information likely to influence their choice regarding specific financial operations, particularly in understanding and clarifying all associated commissions, expenses, and interest rates. In this context, and with a view to achieving the above objectives, the Bank of Cape Verde updates the content of Notice No. 5/94 of March 7, which has been in force for eighteen years, adapting it to the current context and dynamics of the monetary and financial market. In fact, the information disclosure regime that institutions must provide to clients requires some modernization, considering today's financial reality, which also leads to the revocation of Notice No. 2/99 of May 3, regarding information to be provided by institutions to their clientele. Thus, with the new notice, unification and insertion of the aforementioned regimes into a single instrument are carried out.
Gabinete do Governador e dos Conselhos Avenida Amílcar Cabral • Caixa Postal 101 • Telefone (+238) 2607000 • Fax (+238) 2614447 • Praia – Cabo Verde www.bcv.cv Mod.Not.02 In this new notice, emphasis is given to the disclosure of complete and updated fee schedules, composed of commission/expense leaflets and interest rate leaflets, via the internet for credit and para-banking institutions that have one, thereby facilitating their consultation and comparison of charges charged by different institutions. The new fee schedule structure will thus enable a first transversal, standardized comparison capable of identifying available products and maximum applied charges and rates. Likewise, it is innovative the requirement now imposed on institutions when marketing their financial products and services remotely, to ensure prior information to clients regarding the total cost of financial products and services marketed through this channel, particularly by sending the product sheet. The prohibition of charging commissions not provided for in the fee schedule, those with values higher than indicated therein, or whose creation or alteration has not been subject to prior communication to the Bank of Cape Verde is also enshrined. It is also noteworthy that, alongside the regulatory provision regarding the obligation to provide clients with necessary information in the pre-contractual phase so they can previously evaluate the conditions presented by institutions before concluding a contract or acquiring a bank product or service, institutions are imposed with the duty of assistance in the negotiation phase, so that consumers are placed in a position to evaluate whether the proposed contract and its possible amendments adapt to their needs and financial situation. During the contract term, clients are ensured access to permanently updated information, enabling them to know the evolution of marketed services or products.
Gabinete do Governador e dos Conselhos Avenida Amílcar Cabral • Caixa Postal 101 • Telefone (+238) 2607000 • Fax (+238) 2614447 • Praia – Cabo Verde www.bcv.cv Mod.Not.02 Finally, it is noteworthy that, with the aim of raising the national level of banking inclusion and providing free access to certain services, a new concept was integrated into this Notice: free banking services, i.e., those for which institutions cannot charge any commissions or charges. Thus, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 22 and 23 and paragraph c) of Article 42 of its Organic Law, approved by Law No. 10/VI/2002 of July 15, combined with Articles 47 to 49 of Law No. 3/V/96 of July 1, the Bank of Cape Verde establishes the following: CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 (Subject Matter) This Notice establishes the rules that credit and para-banking institutions, hereinafter referred to as "institutions", must observe in disclosing fee schedules, defines the information and assistance duties owed to clients that bind institutions, and determines which banking services are free. Article 2 (Scope of Application) This Notice applies to credit and para-banking institutions with headquarters or branches in national territory. Article 3 (Principles) When charging commissions, expenses, and interest rates at any contractual phase, institutions shall observe, in particular, the following principles: a) Transparency of information; b) Good faith; c) Proportionality; and d) Adequacy. Article 4 (Definitions) For the purposes of this Notice, the following are understood as: a) "Automatic Teller Machines" (ATM): Automated equipment of a banking system network, allowing bank cardholders to perform various banking operations without needing to visit bank branches. b) "Commission": Monetary payments due from clients by institutions, as remuneration for services provided by them or subcontracted to third parties, within the scope of their activity; c) "Total credit cost to the client": All costs, including interest, commissions, and expenses of any nature linked to the credit contract, that the client must pay and are known to the creditor, excluding notarial costs. Costs arising from ancillary services related to the credit contract, in particular insurance premiums, are also included if, additionally, these services are necessary to obtain any credit or to obtain the credit on market terms and conditions; d) "Negotiated overdraft": Express contract by which a creditor allows a client to draw funds exceeding their current account balance; e) "Non-negotiated overdraft": Tacit acceptance by the institution, allowing a client to draw funds exceeding their current account balance or negotiated overdraft; f) "Expenses": Other charges borne by institutions, due to them by third parties and passable on to clients, notably payments to Land Registries, Notarial Offices, or of a fiscal nature, provided they are duly proven; g) "Closure": Termination of current deposit contracts and accounts associated with payment services; h) "Provision of debit or credit card": Production and provision of the credit or debit card, according to the previously agreed cost allocation criterion; i) "Provision of account statement": Production and provision of the complete list of movements of a deposit account, for a certain period, on durable media or in paper format; j) "Inactive account management": Management of an account with a balance equal to or less than 5000$00, where a lack of debit or credit movement is detected for a maximum period of one year, provided no other time deposit account is associated with it. k) "Distance communication means": Any communication medium that can be used without the physical and simultaneous presence of the institution and the client or their representative; l) "Total credit amount": Maximum or total limit of amounts made available by the credit contract; m) "Total amount charged to the client": Sum of the total credit amount and the total credit cost to the consumer; n) "Fee Schedule": Set of permanently updated information regarding the general conditions with patrimonial effects of financial products and services, made available to the public by institutions; o) "Public": Users of financial products and services offered by institutions; p) "Free banking services": Services provided by institutions to individual clients and companies, without charging any commissions, expenses, or other charges; q) "Durable medium": Any instrument that allows the consumer to store information personally addressed to them, so that in the future they can easily access it for a period appropriate to the purposes of the information and allows unaltered reproduction of stored information; r) "TEAP" (Total Effective Annual Percentage Rate): Rate expressed as an annual percentage of the total credit amount, which reflects the total credit cost to the client for the credit operation, including interest and all charges of any nature linked to the credit contract or of an ancillary nature necessary for obtaining the credit or obtaining it on market terms and conditions, notably insurance premiums required under the relevant Notice; a) "NAR" (Nominal Annual Rate): Nominal annual interest rate, expressed as a fixed or variable percentage, applied on an annual basis to the amount of credit used, which reflects the remuneration of the credit operation and does not include any charges; s) "Automatic Payment Terminal (APT)": Payment means that enables commercial transactions to be paid with bank cards, with full convenience and security; t) "Interbank transfer": Transfer of values between accounts, involving two credit institutions; u) "Intrabank transfer": Onshore transfers made between accounts within the same institution, even if belonging to different holders. CHAPTER II FEE SCHEDULES AND DUTIES Article 5 (Fee Schedule)