Technical Standards for the Start of Operations and Functioning of Electronic Money Providers

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020

THE COMMITTEE OF STANDARDS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF RESERVE OF EL SALVADOR,

CONSIDERING:

I. That Article 3, literal b) of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System, establishes that it is the competence of the Superintendence of the Financial System to authorize the constitution, functioning, start of operations, suspension of operations, modification, revocation of authorization, closure, and other acts of the members of the financial system, in accordance with the legal, regulatory, or technical standards established regarding the matter.

II. That Article 35 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that, without prejudice to other obligations that may correspond to them, the directors, managers, and other officials holding positions of direction or administration in the members of the financial system must conduct their business, acts, and operations complying with the highest ethical standards of conduct and acting with the due diligence of a good merchant in their own business, being obligated to comply with and ensure that in the institution they direct or work in, the adoption and updating of policies and mechanisms for risk management are fulfilled.

III. That Article 78 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that the Superintendence of the Financial System will organize and keep updated the records entrusted to it by the laws and those regarding the members of the financial system and their shareholders, which must provide the necessary information to the Superintendence of the Financial System, as well as any change affecting the aforementioned information within the timeframe provided in the respective Law or, failing that, within thirty days subsequent to the event that motivates it.

IV. That Article 2, third paragraph of the Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion, establishes that the Superintendence of the Financial System will authorize the constitution and start of operations of Electronic Money Provider Societies, in accordance with the requirements and procedures established in the technical standards issued for this effect by the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador, through its Committee of Standards.

V. That Article 2, seventh paragraph of the Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion, establishes that the aforementioned societies will be obligated to have, among others, manuals, procedures, policies, internal controls, and business continuity plans that guarantee adequate functioning to offer the services regulated in said law, all in accordance with the current legal framework and the technical standards issued for this effect.

VI. That Article 2, eighth paragraph of the Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion, authorizes banks, cooperative banks, and credit societies to provide electronic money, for which they must comply with the provisions of said Law applicable to them, establishing in said paragraph that the Superintendence of the Financial System will verify compliance with legal and regulatory provisions prior to the provision of the service.

VII. That Article 10, second paragraph of the Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion, establishes that when the payment obligations of the Electronic Money Provider decrease, it may request that the amount of the guarantee be adjusted to the equivalent of the new amount of its obligations with them, in accordance with the technical standards issued for this effect.

VIII. That Article 22 of the Consumer Protection Law establishes that service providers will deposit forms in the institution responsible for their supervision and monitoring, which will verify jointly with the Consumer Ombudsman that they comply with the corresponding consumer rights.

IX. That the Law against Money Laundering and Assets aims to prevent, detect, sanction, and eradicate the crime of money laundering and assets, as well as its concealment, therefore any natural or legal person must demonstrate the lawful origin of their transactions.

X. That through Legislative Decree No. 464 dated October 31, 2019, the Legislative Assembly approved reforms to the Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion, with the purpose of allowing participants of Electronic Money Providers to have transaction and balance limits different from those established for end users, that is, natural persons.

THEREFORE,

in virtue of the regulatory powers conferred by Article 99 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System,

AGREES to issue the following:

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE START OF OPERATIONS AND FUNCTIONING OF ELECTRONIC MONEY PROVIDERS

CHAPTER I
OBJECT, SUBJECTS, AND TERMS

Object
Art. 1.- These Standards aim to regulate the requirements and process for the authorization of the start of operations and registration of Electronic Money Providers, as well as provisions applicable to their operation within the national territory, in accordance with the Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion.

Subjects
Art. 2.- The subjects obligated to comply with these Standards are:
a) Electronic Money Provider Societies, constituted in accordance with what is established in the Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion; b) Banks constituted or created by Law in El Salvador interested in providing electronic money; c) Cooperative banks interested in providing electronic money; and d) Credit societies interested in providing electronic money.

Terms
Art. 3.- For the purposes of these Standards, the terms indicated below have the following meaning:
a) Central Bank: Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador; b) Client: Natural person holder of an electronic money record; c) Affiliated Commerce: Natural or legal persons with whom Electronic Money Providers have signed a contract, in which payment operations will be carried out by means of electronic money; d) Financial Correspondents: For the purposes of these Standards, this term is considered in accordance with what is established in the Technical Standards to Carry Out Operations and Provide Services by Means of Financial Correspondents and Administrators of Financial Correspondents (NASF-03); e) Electronic money: Monetary value registered in favor of a holder or client, which constitutes a payment obligation enforceable against its Electronic Money Provider, which is accepted by other actors who have agreed to receive or provide this service, as a means of payment in an amount equivalent to the cash delivered, and is stored in an electronic medium; f) Mobile device: Payment instrument that allows the client to perform operations with electronic money and manage records of the latter; these can be: cell phones, prepaid cards, computing terminals, and terminals at service points, to instruct the payment and collection of products and services. It will also be understood as a mobile device any other instrument that exists or is created in the future, feasible to be credited with electronic money and that will allow the client to access the services regulated in these Standards; g) Distributor: Natural or legal person holder of an electronic record who will facilitate the provision of the services offered by Electronic Money Providers, acting as an intermediary between them and the service points; h) Entity or Entities: Banks, cooperative banks, and credit societies interested in providing electronic money; i) Inclusion Law: Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion; j) Supervision Law: Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System; k) Operations: Payments and collections, crediting of electronic money records, conversion of electronic money to cash, and any type of electronic money transfer carried out by means of mobile devices; they may also generate electronic money records to fulfill or make effective operations of receiving money from legal entities from abroad that, complying with the requirements of their country of origin, provide the service of sending and receiving money, for which they must comply, where applicable, with what is regulated in the technical standards issued by the Committee of Standards of the Central Bank. Likewise, they may generate electronic money records for natural persons, legal entities, or government departments that make payments or transfers with electronic money; l) Participants: Natural or legal persons who intervene in the electronic money provision process, such as agents, financial correspondents, affiliated commerce, distributors, among others. The scope of their participation will depend on
the business model defined by each Electronic Money Provider; they will have a special electronic money record and may have transaction and balance limits different from those established for end users or clients, that is, natural persons; m) Electronic Platform: Set of hardware and software components, in which information is collected, processed, transmitted, and stored, used to manage all the electronic money enabled by the Electronic Money Provider; n) Electronic Money Providers or Providers: Provider Societies, banks, cooperative banks, and credit societies authorized to provide electronic money; o) Service Points: Natural or legal persons who attend to clients for the performance of operations with electronic money, which may also be understood as Agents; p) Electronic Record: Recording of a set of data belonging to the same natural person, legal entity, or government department and stored in a database; q) Electronic money record for end users or clients: Recording of a set of data regarding Electronic money belonging to the same natural person, for which electronic money providers must comply with the balance and transaction limits defined by the Central Bank, through its Committee of Standards applicable to end users or clients; r) Special Electronic money record: Recording of a set of data regarding Electronic money belonging to the same natural person, legal entity, or government department identified by electronic money providers as participants, who may have transaction and balance limits different from those established for end users or clients, that is, natural persons; s) Information Security: Set of measures that allow safeguarding and protecting information complying with the properties of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the same, so that it is not vulnerable to threats; t) Provider Society: Electronic Money Provider Society; and u) Superintendence: Superintendence of the Financial System.

CHAPTER II
AUTHORIZATION OF THE START OF OPERATIONS OF ELECTRONIC MONEY PROVIDER SOCIETIES

Authorization for the start of operations and registration of the Provider Society Art. 4.- Once inscribed in the Commerce Register the public deed of constitution, the Provider Society will request from the Superintendence the authorization of the start of operations, for which it must present:
a) Note signed by the legal representative of the Provider Society, in which it requests from the Superintendence the authorization of the start of operations and its corresponding Entry in the Register; b) Legible copy of the deed of constitution in which the appointment of persons holding positions of administration or the certification of the Minute of the General Shareholders Meeting in which the election of the Board of Directors is recorded; c) Legible copy of the Certification of the Minute of the General Shareholders Meeting or Board of Directors, duly inscribed in the Commerce Register, by virtue of which the appointment of the General Manager or Executive Director has been made; d) Legible copy of the Tax Identification Number and the Taxpayer Registration Number of the Provider Society; e) Organizational chart of the Provider Society with indication of the position and name of the administrators and directors, specifying the position to be performed regarding support staff; f) Legible copy, notarially certified, of the agreement appointing the external auditor registered in the Superintendence, in case it has not been appointed in the constitutive act, which must be previously inscribed in the Commerce Register; g) Certification of Agreement of the Board of Directors of the Provider Society, in which the electronic money balance with which it expects to start operations is indicated, for the purpose of constituting the corresponding backing; h) Business operational model of the Provider Society, in accordance with Article 5 of these Standards; i) Accounting system of the Provider Society and the description of the computer system on which it has been developed and which will support the operation and functioning of the same, description of its information systems, description of information backups, contingency and recovery plans, as well as the description of security and controls in the systems. The accounting systems must be presented in accordance with the applicable legal and regulatory provisions; j) Signed contract for the opening of a Deposit Account, in which the guarantee that will serve as cash backing referred to in Article 10 of the Inclusion Law will be constituted; k) Certification issued by the Central Bank of the correct functioning of the interface that will allow the interconnection between it and the Provider Society, which must comply with what the Governing Council of said Bank establishes; l) Internal policies of the Provider Society, in accordance with what is established in Article 35 of the Supervision Law, among which may be mentioned:
i. Corporate governance policies in accordance with what is established in the (1) approved by the Central Bank through its Committee of Standards;
ii. Policies on ethical standards of conduct;
iii. Policies and mechanisms for risk management in accordance with what is established in the Technical Standards for the Integral Risk Management of Electronic Money Provider Societies (NRP-22) approved by the Central Bank, through its Committee of Standards; and
iv. Information security and business continuity policies (24) approved by the Central Bank, through its Committee of Standards;
m) Internal control manuals for the functioning in each of the operational processes of the Provider Society; n) Manual for the management of the risk of Prevention of Money Laundering and Assets and Financing of Terrorism; and o) Integral risk management system, as established in the Technical Standards for the Integral Risk Management of Electronic Money Provider Societies (NRP-22), approved by the Central Bank through its Committee of Standards. (1)

Art. 5.- The business operational model must contain at least the following:
a) Business volume and electronic money expected to be handled for a minimum period of three years, attaching the corresponding supporting documentation (sources of information, justification of assumptions, criteria used, among others); b) General technical description of the type of technology to be used with its participants; c) Description of the mechanism for identification, subscription, and registration of client information to the services, as well as the activation, blocking, deactivation of the same, the reversal of operations, and the delivery of security keys, as well as the causes for rejection of operations and the procedure for notifying the client of the respective rejection; (1) d) Description of the operation registration system for all participants, in accordance with what is established in Article 7, final paragraph, of these Standards; e) Maximum balance limit and maximum amount per transactions performable by clients, in accordance with what is established in the Inclusion Law, as well as description of the mechanisms to ensure its compliance; f) Profile of natural or legal persons with whom the Provider Society will have a contractual relationship to develop operations as a distributor or service point; g) Type of operations that the client can perform, accompanied by the respective operational scheme that includes the role of the Provider Society and other participants, the phases considered in the provision of the service, and the measures to ensure the confidentiality, availability, integrity, and functionality of operations with electronic money; h) Technical description of the electronic platform that will support the service by means of mobile devices, in accordance with what is established in Article 7 of these Standards, as well as the mechanisms and computer systems for control and monitoring of services on the electronic platform; i) Description of the mechanism to guarantee the linkage of an electronic money record to a single natural person, provided that the latter does not have an active record with the same Provider; (1) j) List of telecommunications operators or entities that will provide the communication channel for the provision of the service, if applicable; k) Maximum balance limit and maximum amount per transactions performable by participants, observing at all times the limits established by the Provider Society, according to its business model, as well as the description of the mechanisms to ensure its compliance; l) List of potential participants depending on the established operational business model; m) Description of mechanisms, procedures, and instances within the Provider Society for the resolution of differences that may arise with participants; (1) n) Description of mechanisms, procedures, and instances within the Provider Society to avoid the prescription of balances in the electronic money records of its participants and clients; and (1) o) Description of mechanisms, procedures, and
instances within the Provider Society for the attention of complaints or claims from its participants and clients. (1). The description of mechanisms or systems established in literals c), d), h), i), m), n), and o) of this article must be developed for the process of verification of the start of operations by the Superintendence. (1)

On Information Security and Business Continuity Art. 6.- The Provider Society must manage information security and business continuity (24) approved by the Central Bank, through its Committee of Standards.

On the Electronic Platform of Provider Societies Art. 7.- Regarding the electronic platform that will support the service by means of mobile devices, the Provider Society must present the following:
a) Description of the hardware and software for the connection of Provider Societies with the participants that intervene in their business scheme; b) The technical diagram of the sending and receiving of information between the electronic platform of the Provider Society, and the mobile devices of the clients, which include the role of the participants defined according to the operational business model; and c) Technical manual of the computer system that supports the operations carried out with electronic money that includes at least the Entity-Relationship diagram of the system and a detailed description of the database objects (Data Dictionary). The electronic platform must allow timely and immediate access to all information related to electronic money operations performed, which is requested by the holder, the Provider Society, by the Central Bank or the Superintendence, the General Directorate of Internal Taxes when they require it

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020

for the exercise of their functions and to the respective authorities for the clarification of crimes, providing it by the means they deem convenient, for which mechanisms and procedures for the extraction and generation of historical information will be implemented and administered.

Processing of the application
Art. 8.- Upon receipt of the documentation in proper form and verification by the Superintendence that the aforementioned requirements have been met, the Superintendent will communicate the authorization for the start of operations of the application or deny it, within a maximum period of sixty business days. If this period expires and the Superintendence does not issue a ruling, the authorization resolution will be understood as favorable for the entity.

If the application is not accompanied by complete information as established in Article 4 of these Standards, the Superintendence may require the entity to present the missing documents within a period of ten business days counted from the day following the notification.

The Superintendence, in the same notice, will indicate to the entity that if it does not complete the information within the aforementioned period, it will proceed without further procedure to archive the application, leaving it free to present a new application.

Analysis of the application
Art. 9.- Having met the previous requirement, the Superintendence will proceed as follows:
a) Analysis of the documentation established in Article 4 of these Standards; b) Verification of the accounting, computer, and risk management systems, internal controls and procedures, information security mechanisms and continuity of operations of the Provider Company and compliance with conditions related to the reliability, integrity and availability of the electronic platform that supports the service through mobile devices; and (1) c) Verification that the computer systems have their applications and processes duly documented, including records of changes in them, access logs, maintenance policies, licenses and authorizations, backup mechanisms and information recovery procedures, as well as that all policies and limits for Risk Management are parameterized in them.

After the analysis and verification, the Superintendence may notify the entity to remedy the deficiencies found.

The entity will have a period of ten business days, counted from the day following the notification of the notice, to remedy the observations or to present the

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020 documentation and information required by the Superintendence.

The Superintendence, through a reasoned resolution, will extend by up to another ten business days, the period indicated in the previous paragraph, when the nature of the observations or deficiencies notified so requires.

Extension period
Art. 10.- The entity may submit to the Superintendence a request for extension of the periods indicated in Articles 8 and 9, stating the grounds on which it is based and proposing, if applicable, the relevant proof.

The extension period may not exceed ten business days and will begin from the next business day after the expiration date of the original period.

Suspension of the period
Art. 11.- The period of sixty business days indicated in Article 8 of these Standards, will be suspended for the days that elapse between the notification of the information request or overcoming of observations referred to in said Article and Article 9 of these Standards, until the entity remedies the observations indicated by the Superintendence. (1)

Regarding the resolution
Art. 12.- Once the required documents have been presented in due form and the verification has been completed, the Superintendence will proceed to respond to the application for authorization to start operations.

Once the aforementioned authorization is issued, the Electronic Money Provider will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework applicable to it for its proper functioning. (1)

Art. 13.- When the Superintendence denies or authorizes the start of operations of a Provider Company, the Superintendence will publish such resolution, at the expense of the Provider Company, on its website and in a newspaper of national circulation. This must be done within five days following the issuance of said resolution. The Provider Company must start operations within a maximum period of sixty business days, counted from the notification of the authorization agreement; otherwise, it will become void. (1)

Art. 14.- Once the authorization is granted, the Provider Company must send to the Superintendence the contract models for the provision of services that it will use with customers in accordance with what is established in Article 32 of these

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
Standards and must comply with the procedure established in the Consumer Protection Law and its Regulation. (1)

CHAPTER III
ON THE NO OBJECTION FOR PROVIDING ELECTRONIC MONEY BY BANKS, COOPERATIVE BANKS AND SAVINGS AND CREDIT COMPANIES

On the No Objection
Art. 15.- The provision of electronic money may also be carried out, prior to No Objection from the Superintendence, by the following entities integrated into the financial system: banks constituted or created by Law in El Salvador, cooperative banks, and savings and credit companies.

Art. 16.- In the case that one of these entities intends to provide electronic money and wishes to obtain the No Objection from the Superintendence, it must send the following:
a) Certification of Agreement of the Board of Directors or the Administrative Council indicating the electronic money balance with which it expects to start the provision of electronic money, for the purpose of constituting the corresponding backing; b) Signed contract for the opening of a Deposit Account, in which the guarantee that will serve as cash backing referred to in Article 10 of the Inclusion Law will be constituted; c) Certificate issued by the Central Bank of the correct functioning of the interface that will allow interconnection between it and the entity, which must comply with what the Governing Council of said Bank establishes; d) Operational business model related to the provision of electronic money, in accordance with Article 5 of these Standards; e) Internal manuals and policies on the provision of electronic money, especially regarding risk management generated by these operations, containing the segregation of functions and selection of participants; f) Modification of its information security policies in accordance with Article 6 of these Standards; g) Internal control manuals for the functioning in each of the operational processes related to the provision of electronic money; h) Manual for the management of Money Laundering and Asset Prevention and Terrorism Financing risk, duly adjusted to incorporate what is related to the provision of electronic money; i) Modification of the accounting system and the description of the adjustments made to the computer system on which it operates, complying at all times with the established legal and regulatory provisions; and

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020 j) Sworn declaration stating that all information presented for the No Objection is correct.

Processing of the application
Art. 17.- Upon receipt of the documentation in proper form and verification by the Superintendence that the aforementioned requirements have been met, the Superintendent will communicate the No Objection of the application or object to it, within a maximum period of sixty business days. If this period expires and the Superintendence does not issue a ruling, the No Objection resolution will be understood as favorable for the entity.

If the application is not accompanied by complete information as established in Article 16 of these Standards, the Superintendence may require the entity to present the missing documents within a period of ten business days counted from the day following the notification.

The Superintendence, in the same notice, will indicate to the entity that if it does not complete the information within the aforementioned period, it will proceed without further procedure to archive the application, leaving it free to present a new application.

Analysis of the application
Art. 18.- Having met the previous requirement, the Superintendence will proceed as follows:
a) Analysis of the documentation established in Article 16 of these Standards; b) Verification of the accounting, computer, and risk management systems, internal controls and procedures, information security mechanisms and continuity of operations of the Provider Company and compliance with conditions related to the reliability, integrity and availability of the electronic platform that supports the service through mobile devices; and (1) c) Verification that the computer systems have their applications and processes duly documented, including records of changes in them, access logs, maintenance policies, licenses and authorizations, backup mechanisms and information recovery procedures, as well as that all policies and limits for Risk Management are parameterized in them.

After the analysis and verification, the Superintendence may notify the entity to remedy the deficiencies found.

The entity will have a period of ten business days counted from the day following the notification of the notice to remedy the observations or to present the

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020 documentation and information required by the Superintendence.

The Superintendence, through a reasoned resolution, will extend by up to another ten business days, the period indicated in the previous paragraph, when the nature of the observations or deficiencies notified so requires.

Extension period
Art. 19.- The entity may submit to the Superintendence a request for extension of the periods indicated in Articles 17 and 18, stating the grounds on which it is based and proposing, if applicable, the relevant proof.

The extension period may not exceed ten business days and will begin from the next business day after the expiration date of the original period.

Suspension of the period
Art. 20.- The period of sixty business days indicated in Article 17 of these Standards, will be suspended for the days that elapse between the notification of the information request or overcoming of observations referred to in said Article and Article 18 of these Standards, until the entity remedies the observations indicated by the Superintendence. (1)

Regarding the resolution
Art. 21.- Once the required documents have been presented in due form and the verification has been completed, the Superintendence will proceed to respond to the No Objection application.

Once the No Objection is issued, the Electronic Money Provider will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework applicable to it for its proper functioning. (1)

Art. 22.- Once the No Objection is granted, the entity must send to the Superintendence the contract models for the provision of services that it will use with customers in accordance with what is established in Chapter VI, Article 32 of these Standards and comply with the procedure established in the Consumer Protection Law and its Regulation. (1)

CHAPTER IV
ON THE BACKING ACCOUNT

Backing of electronic money
Art. 23.- The amount of electronic money to be provided must be fully backed at the Central Bank, as indicated in Article 10 of the Inclusion Law, according to the terms and conditions established by the Governing Council of the Central Bank. Under no circumstances shall the electronic money balance represented on the Provider's electronic platform exceed the backed amount.

The Central Bank will facilitate, through the necessary technological means, the use of the resources of the backing account by the equivalent of the electronic money registered in its favor on its electronic platform, provided that what is established in the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Inclusion Law is not breached.

Procedure for decreasing the backing account
Art. 24.- The balance of the non-interest-bearing deposit that the Provider constitutes at the Central Bank may be decreased at the request of the Provider, provided that it evidences that its payment obligations with the holders of electronic money records have decreased, and the backing account reflects a balance higher than said payment obligations.

The balance of the backing account may be reduced provided that there are funds credited to the Provider on the electronic money platform at the time of requesting a reduction.

In the event that a Provider intends to make a decrease in the backing account, it must disable on the electronic platform the amount of electronic money that is intended to be decreased, prior to sending the respective request to the Central Bank, through the mechanisms specified in the standards defined for such effect by the Governing Council of the Central Bank.

The Central Bank will verify that the amount to be decreased in the backing account by the Provider is equal to or less than the amount credited to its favor on the electronic platform.

Art. 25.- Decreases in the backing account may only be made during the hours established in the instruction regulating the system of the Central Bank to be used.

CHAPTER V
RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROVIDERS AND PARTICIPANTS

Responsibilities of the Provider
Art. 26.- The Provider assumes complete responsibility before the client for all operations and services carried out through the electronic platform.

Providers will be responsible for ensuring that distributors and service points have the necessary suitability, solvency, as well as adequate physical, technical, human, and technological infrastructure for the performance of operations and provision of agreed services. These characteristics and the details for qualifying their compliance will be defined by the Providers in their

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020 respective operational business models.

Providers will provide their distributors and service points, whether directly or through third parties, with information technology, documentation, support, training, and necessary contingency measures to adequately perform operations and provide agreed services, unless the operational business model does not contemplate the provision of information technology, in which case it will always be the responsibility of the Provider to ensure compliance with the requirements of this paragraph.

Likewise, Providers will provide distributors and service points with a telephone number for receiving calls, a specific application for messaging and email contact for permanent communication with the Provider.

The Provider will establish adequate mechanisms and procedures to handle complaints from operations carried out by its clients through distributors and service points, specifying the official means of receiving them, and must resolve them within a period that may not exceed that established for different operations in current legislation. In the event that there is no such period in current legislation, these must be resolved within a reasonable period, which must be established in the procedure for handling complaints. In all cases, said procedure must incorporate internal controls on attended queries and responses provided. For this, they must maintain a record of each complaint attended, complying with the format established in Annex No. 1 of these Standards.

Art. 27.- Providers must comply with the following:
a) Guarantee that all electronic money operations carried out by the client are in real time; b) Establish policies and procedures for consumer protection, accompanied by documentation evidencing the request for deposit of the same before the Consumer Ombudsman, in accordance with Article 21 of the Inclusion Law; c) Establish contingency mechanisms that provide the Provider with the capacity to continue providing the service in case of contingency, failures, or interruptions in any of the components of the infrastructure involved in the provision of the service; d) Channel operations and resolve queries or any other aspect related to customer attention and service; e) Ensure that all participants comply with their contractual obligations and the responsibilities indicated in these Standards; f) Honor their obligations with their participants, for which they must establish their

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020 internal procedures and agreements with them; g) Safeguard information on operations carried out in secure storage media, in compliance with their internal policies regarding backup and information recovery for a period of fifteen years, counted from the date of completion of each operation; h) Comply with regulations related to the prevention of money laundering and asset laundering and terrorism financing, for which it must establish a monitoring scheme and a control of the traceability of operations, as established in the Technical Standards for the Management of Money Laundering and Asset Risks, and Terrorism Financing (NRP-08) approved by the Central Bank, through its Standards Committee; i) Ensure that operations carried out do not exceed limits established in Article 5 of the Inclusion Law; j) Ensure that operations carried out are processed attending to client instructions; k) Constitute the electronic money backing required in Article 10 of the Inclusion Law, according to what is defined by the Governing Council of the Central Bank; l) Make available a mechanism that allows the client to obtain the history of operations carried out and a procedure to define a new access key; m) Train the staff of distributors and service points on the legal and regulatory framework regarding the prevention of money laundering and asset laundering and terrorism financing and verify its compliance; n) Provide tools and verify that participants offer clients clear and timely information regarding the services provided, the conditions of access to them, the fees, commissions, and other applicable surcharges; o) Provide technical and commercial support to participants; p) Implement mechanisms to avoid the statute of limitations of inactive electronic money records, which must include, at a minimum, the sending of a notification through text messages, the Provider's website, or other means that it deems convenient, to holders who have completed one year of inactivity, in the first three months following the date they complete said period of inactivity; q) Keep updated the register of electronic money holders and their beneficiaries; r) Timely comply with payment obligations to clients; s) Block the service and freeze the electronic money record, when the competent authority, ex officio or at the request of the electronic money provider, determines that it was opened with false documents or the provider considers that it is being used for illicit purposes; for which, they must have policies that develop the corresponding security measures;

t) Send to the Superintendence in the first thirty days of the year the policies of commissions and surcharges authorized by the Board of Directors, in which each of the commissions, charges for third parties, and any other charge associated with electronic money operations is defined and clarified, their meaning, operations on which it applies, maximum to be charged, among others; and u) Send daily to the Superintendence detailed information of their money sending or receiving operations, in accordance with Annex No. 2 of these Standards; the Provider must implement the necessary modifications for the submission of information requested in this letter within a maximum period of one hundred twenty days after the Superintendence notifies the respective technical details. (1)

Art. 28.- The Provider must ensure that all contracts subscribed between the participants involved in the process of providing electronic money, according to its operational business model, comply with the following obligations:
a) Comply with the procedures, measures, and internal controls instructed by the Provider to provide services related to the provision of electronic money, especially to comply with its Due Diligence Policy for Customer Knowledge and for the provision of services in general; b) Keep confidentiality or reserve regarding the information that identifies its clients, except for requirements of competent authority; c) Maintain during the execution of the contract the technical, infrastructure, human resources, or other requirements demanded by the Provider; d) Deliver to clients the electronic or physical support of the operation carried out; e) Identify themselves clearly so that clients can associate them with the Provider of the services with which they operate; and f) Expose on bulletin boards at service points the current commissions and surcharges for operations.

Providers will be directly responsible for verifying compliance with the aforementioned responsibilities; the frequency of verification will be in accordance with the amount and number of operations they develop and will be established in the operational business model; therefore, they must send to the Superintendence a report on the result of such verifications, in the first ten business days of the months of February and August of each year.

CHAPTER VI
ON THE CONTRACTS TO BE SIGNED

Circumstances that prevent the contracting of distributors and service points Art. 29.- The Provider may not hire as a distributor or service point, a

ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020

ELECTRONIC MONEY
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020 natural or legal person who is in any of the following circumstances:
a) Minors; b) Directors and employees of Provider Companies, financial institutions, the Central Bank, and the Superintendence; and c) Persons who have been judicially proven to have participated in activities related to drug trafficking and related crimes, money and asset laundering, and terrorism financing, both within the national jurisdiction and abroad. In the case where the distributor or point of service is a legal person, its shareholders, directors, managers, or administrators shall not be subject to the circumstances mentioned above. For the purpose of complying with these provisions, interested parties must submit a sworn statement establishing that they are not in any of the circumstances mentioned. Any Provider before contracting a distributor and point of service shall be responsible for verifying that they are not in the circumstances related to in this article. In the event that, after the corresponding contract has been signed, any of the aforementioned circumstances occur to the holder of the distributor and point of service, this shall be considered a cause for termination of the contract, and the Provider must notify the Superintendence within a maximum period of five business days counted from the date on which the Provider became aware of such circumstance. Minimum content of contracts with participants involved in the electronic money provision process Art. 30.- The service contracts that Providers enter into with participants involved in the electronic money provision process, according to their business operational model, must contain at least the following:
a) Identification of the contracting parties; b) The explicit indication of the Provider's full responsibility towards the client, for the services provided; c) The rights and obligations of the parties, explicitly establishing the responsibilities of the Provider and the distributor or point of service for the proper functioning of the services provided; d) Delimitation of the operations that may be performed, as well as the procedures to be followed for each of them; e) Compensation received by the distributor or point of service for the services provided, or the establishment of commissions and surcharges to be charged by the same. For these purposes, the calculation method, periodicity, payment method, and, where applicable, the manner in which such commission or surcharge may be modified by the Provider must be explained; f) The valid communication channels and procedures, as well as the transmission of instructions between the parties; g) The procedure to be followed in the event of erroneous electronic money credit or payment orders, or values assigned by error by the distributor or point of service; h) The Provider's responsibility to provide the electronic platform supporting the service via mobile devices, as well as the manuals and training necessary for the proper development of operations; i) Explicit indication of the Provider's responsibility to ensure that the distributor or point of service complies with the obligations detailed in Article 28 of these Standards; j) Liability clauses in case of breach by any of the parties; k) Causes for contract termination; l) The obligation to comply with the legal and regulatory framework regarding the prevention of money and asset laundering and terrorism financing, and the Provider's responsibility for any crime committed in the exercise of their operations; m) Clauses that allow the Superintendence or other bodies with supervisory powers in accordance with their laws, to request information and supervision regarding the provision of services; and n) Establishment of the procedure for canceling sums credited to the distributor or point of service, for operations performed with electronic money, including the periodicity thereof. The signing of contracts between participants involved in the electronic money provision process does not exempt the Electronic Money Provider from the responsibilities it has towards its clients. Art. 31.- The Provider may not force participants to sign exclusivity contracts for the performance of the operations regulated in these Standards. Adhesion Contracts Art. 32.- The adhesion contracts that the Provider enters into with its clients must contain the following:
a) The commissions and surcharges applicable to the activation of the electronic money registration; b) The characteristics and conditions for performing electronic money operations, the limits associated with the operations, as well as the restrictions applicable to electronic money registration; c) The conditions for conversion to cash; d) The conditions for the use, conservation, and security of the medium delivered by the Provider for the use of electronic money, such as prepaid cards or others, where applicable; e) The channels made available to the client for performing electronic money operations, indicating the requirements for their use; f) The possibility for the client to request the temporary or definitive blocking of their electronic money registration due to, among other things, loss, theft, or disappearance of the access medium used for electronic money or the information it contains, and that the client can recover the electronic money balance in their favor; g) Establishment of beneficiaries, as well as the proportions in which the monetary value of electronic money registrations would be distributed in the event of the holder's death; h) Applicable procedure for the resolution and early termination of the contract; and i) The liability scenarios of the parties considering what is indicated in Chapter V of these Standards. The general clauses of electronic money provision contracts must be approved, previously and jointly, by the Superintendence and the Consumer Ombudsman, considering for this purpose both what is provided in Article 22 of the Consumer Protection Law and Article 32 of the Regulation of the same law. Adhesion contracts must be drafted in clear terms, essentially expressing the nature of the contract entered into, the object and purpose thereof, specifications regarding the good or service contracted, the contract term, payment method, and the manner in which the client can make complaints.

CHAPTER VII
CLIENT PROTECTION

Information Duties
Art. 33.- Providers must provide their clients with truthful, accurate, intelligible, complete, and timely information, among others, regarding the characteristics of the services regulated in these Standards, the corresponding table of commissions and surcharges, the manner to access such services, the potential risks associated with them, the services contracted, and the network of participants. Providers must keep the aforementioned information available to their clients or potential clients, at least physically, in their offices, and electronically, on their website, so that it can be consulted even before contracting.

ELECTRONIC MONEY
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
Publication of Commissions and Surcharges
Art. 34.- Providers must make known to the public quarterly and whenever modified, the commissions (amount or percentage), surcharges, charges on behalf of third parties, and any other charges associated with the services they offer to their clients in a newspaper of national circulation. They must also display them on billboards located in their customer service offices, and may additionally use any other mass communication medium. Such communications must be made in a prior, clear, legible, and visible manner, and they are obligated to comply with what was offered or communicated to their clients. Service Offices Art. 35.- Providers must have staff trained in the services regulated in these Standards in their service offices, in order to attend to and resolve client inquiries and complaints. Additionally, they must provide a customer service telephone number available twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year. The training provided to staff regarding the characteristics and risks associated with this type of service must be documented and must be available to the Superintendence at all times. Loss, theft, or disappearance of the access medium to the electronic money registration Art. 36.- In the event of loss, theft, or disappearance of the access medium to the electronic money registration, the client must notify the Provider immediately through the channel defined by the latter. The Provider will keep a record of such notification and provide the client with a notification number evidencing the report. The Provider must, upon notification by the client regarding any of the aforementioned situations, immediately proceed to block the electronic money registration to prevent unauthorized use by third parties. These blocked records will continue to represent the Provider's obligations to the holders of such registrations until the client performs the conversion of electronic money to cash. In the event that the client wishes to withdraw the amount of electronic money credited up to that moment in the electronic money registration associated with the reported mobile device, they must visit a service office and present their Unique Identity Document and the notification number evidencing the blocking report so that the electronic money can be converted to cash or their registration can be reactivated. The client's responsibility for the proper use of the electronic money registration ceases once they make the respective notification.

ELECTRONIC MONEY
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
Prescription
Art. 37.- Funds stored in electronic money registrations on mobile devices that have an inactivity period of five years shall be considered prescribed and shall pass to the State in accordance with what is established in Article 11 of the Inclusion Law.

CHAPTER VIII
INTERNAL CONTROL

Prevention of Money and Asset Laundering and Terrorism Financing Art. 38.- The operations and services provided by Providers through their distributors and points of service shall comply with the legal and regulatory framework regarding the prevention of money and asset laundering and terrorism financing, and must have a specific Manual in this matter. Providers are directly responsible for verifying compliance and management thereof. Risk Management Art. 39.- Providers must manage their risks in accordance with what is established in the Technical Standards for the Integral Risk Management of Electronic Money Provider Companies (NRP-22) approved by the Central Bank, through its Standards Committee. Audit Art. 40.- Internal audit must include in its annual audit plans the periodicity of the evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of the risk management framework designed by the Provider, verify internal controls; as well as the viability of money and asset laundering and terrorism financing detection and prevention systems. Contracting of Services Art. 41.- Electronic Money Providers are responsible for preserving the security of their information, their clients' information, and all information they access, use, process, or store for the development of their operations and continuity thereof. Security Management (23). In the event that an Electronic Money Provider contracts support services that allow them to provide electronic money, provided that it is not the provision of electronic money itself, such services must be formalized with a contract signed by both parties and permanently updated. The aforementioned contract must explicitly state everything concerning the service provided, the prohibition of sharing or commercializing total or partial information of electronic money registration holders, the protection of their data, confidentiality, information security, processes, systems, and technology it hosts, among others. Additionally, the contract must state that the information and the procedure or storage object of the contracting are effectively isolated at all times, such that there is no communication or connectivity with the information of other clients of the service provider. Providers must verify that the contracted company maintains the Provider's information security criteria in compliance with these Standards. Likewise, there shall be no restriction by the contracted company for the Superintendence to perform the evaluations it deems pertinent and the right to audit the same regarding the contracted service.
CHAPTER IX
OTHER PROVISIONS AND VALIDITY

Submission of Information
Art. 42.- The documentation submitted to the Superintendence, in compliance with what is provided in these Standards, must conform to the corresponding legal formalities, especially regarding:
a) The photocopies submitted must be legible and certified by an authorized notary in El Salvador; b) The signatures appearing on all types of documentation must be authenticated by an authorized notary in El Salvador; c) In the event that the documentation is not in the Spanish language, it must be translated in accordance with what is provided in the Notarial Practice Law of Voluntary Jurisdiction and Other Proceedings; and d) Public or authentic documents emanating from foreign countries and their photocopies must comply with what is established in the Civil and Commercial Procedural Code or the apostille procedure, in the case of countries signatories to the "Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents." Supervision Art. 43.- Providers will keep at the disposal of the Superintendence all the information it requires for the execution of its surveillance and supervision work, including complete and updated information of participants, and must provide all necessary collaboration, whether in field visits or extra-situ monitoring.

ELECTRONIC MONEY
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
Generation of Statistical Information (1)
Art. 43.-A.- The entity must have an automated system for recording, processing, storing, transmitting, producing, securing, and controlling complaints or procedures involving any complaint or disagreement expressed by the client, received in the previous month, which must contain, among others, the number of cases, reason for complaints, cases in process or completed, according to the format described in Annex No. 1 of these Standards. (1) The system will generate statistics to determine which products offered by each entity have the highest number of complaints or procedures involving any complaint or disagreement expressed by the client received in the previous month, related to financial products or services, with the objective that the Administration Body makes decisions based on relevant and timely information in accordance with Article 35 letters d), e), h), and j) of the Financial System Supervision and Regulation Law. (1) The Superintendence may request direct real-time access to said system in accordance with Article 32 of the Financial System Supervision and Regulation Law. (1) Public Disclosure of Statistical Summary (1) Art. 43.-B.- The entity must publish on its website a link directing to the statistical summary regarding the reasons for complaints or procedures involving any complaint or disagreement expressed by the client received in the previous quarter, related to the operations performed, as well as efficiency indicators of resolved cases and maximum times for their resolution. (1) Submission of Information to the Superintendence (1) Art. 43.-C.- The entity must submit monthly to the Superintendence within a period of seven business days following the month in reference, the statistical control established in Annex No. 1 of these Standards. (1) In the event that there are no complaints or procedures involving any complaint or disagreement expressed by the client received in the previous month, related to financial products or services, the entity will submit to the Superintendence and the Central Bank a note stating such situation. (1) Technical Details for the Submission of Information to the Superintendence (1) Art. 43.-D.- The Superintendence will send to the entities, with a copy to the Central Bank, within a maximum period of thirty business days following the effective date of the modifications, the technical details related to the sending of the information requested in Article 43.-C of these Standards. (1) The technical details will be limited to the collection of information in accordance with what is regulated in these Standards. (1) Sanctions Art. 44.- Non-compliance with the provisions contained in these Standards will be sanctioned by the Superintendence in accordance with what is established in the Supervision Law; however, any non-compliance or infraction of these Standards related to the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations will be sanctioned by the Consumer Ombudsman. Repeal Art. 45.- Operations and
Functioning of Electronic Money Providers (05), approved in Standards Committee Session No. CN-07/2016 on June twenty-nine, two thousand sixteen by the Standards Committee of the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador. Transitory Art. 46.- Entities, to comply with the provisions established in these Standards, must submit to the Superintendence an adaptation plan, within thirty days following its validity, and implement it within a maximum period of sixty days counted from its submission. Art. 46.-A.- Entities subject to these Standards will have up to one hundred eighty business days from the communication of the technical details by the Superintendence to adapt and comply with what is established in Articles 43-A, 43-B, and 43-C of these Standards. (1) Unforeseen Aspects Art. 47.- Aspects not provided for in the regulation in these Standards will be resolved by the Standards Committee of the Central Bank, except for aspects that fall under the Central Bank's Board of Directors in accordance with what is provided in the Inclusion Law. Validity Art. 48.- These Standards will enter into force on September seven, two thousand twenty.

ELECTRONIC MONEY
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
MODIFICATIONS:
(1) Modifications in Articles 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, substitution of Annex No. 1 and incorporation of Articles 43-A, 43-B, 43-C, 43-D, 46-A, and Annex No. 2, approved by the Central Bank of Reserve through its Standards Committee, in Session No. CN-07/2021, dated June sixteen, two thousand twenty-one, with validity from July five, two thousand twenty-one. (2) Modification in Annex No. 2, approved by the Central Bank of Reserve through its Standards Committee in Session No. CN-10/2023 on November twenty-eight, two thousand twenty-three, with validity from May one, two thousand twenty-four, due to the approval of Legislative Decree No. 762 containing the Special Law for Municipal Restructuring.

ELECTRONIC MONEY
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
Annex No. 1 (1)

COMPLAINT CONTROL FOR OPERATIONS AND SERVICES OF CLIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS (1)

Entity Name: (1)
Reference Month: (1)

No. (1) Requirement (1) Description (1)
1 (1) Transaction Type (1) Transaction authorized to the entity encoded according to the catalog available at www.ssf.gob.sv (1) 2 (1) Control Number (1) Tracking or control number assigned by the entity to reference the complaint. (1) 3 (1) Complaint Date (1) Date on which the client or user presented their complaint. (1) 4 (1) User or Client Name (1) Name of the user or client presenting the complaint. (1) 5 (1) User or Client Nationality (1) Nationality of the user or client presenting the complaint. (1) 6 (1) Person Type (Natural or Legal) (1) Whether the person presenting the complaint is Natural or Legal. (1) 7 (1) Identity Document Type (1) Document used for identification:
Unique Identity Document, Passport, or Residence Card. (1) 8 (1) Identity Document Number (1) Identity Document Number. (1) 9 (1) Sex (1) Sex of the person (provided that the person is a natural person). (1) 10 (1) Reason for Complaint (1) Complaint code. (1) 11 (1) Complaint Status (1) Status of the complaint: in process or completed. (1) 12 (1) Resolution Result (1) Result of the complaint resolution: favorable, unfavorable, or withdrawn by the client. (1) 13 (1) Resolution Date (1) Date on which the complaint procedure was finalized. (1) 14 (1) Claimed Amount (1) Value of the claimed amount. (1)

ANNEX No. 2 (1)
ELECTRONIC MONEY
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION ON MONEY SEND OR RECEIPT OPERATIONS TO THE SUPERINTENDENCE (1)

File 1 SENDER OR BENEFICIARY (sender_beneficiary.xml) (1) In this file, the general data of the user, whether sender or beneficiary, who performs the money sending or receiving operation in the country or abroad, must be detailed. The field <<1.1 shipment_number>> must be reported in the field <<2.1 shipment_number>>. (1)

No. (1) Column Name (1)
Description (1)

1.1 (1) shipment_number (1) Shipment number. (1)
1.2 (1) role (1) 1. Sender. (1)
2. Beneficiary. (1)
1.3 (1) id_document_code (1) Identification document code of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.4 (1) id_document_number (1) Identification Document Number of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.5 (1) place_of_issue (1) Place of Issue of the identification document of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.6 (1) issue_date (1) Issue date of the identification document of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.7 (1) person_type (1) 1. Natural. (1)
2. Legal. (1)
1.8 (1) gender (1) Gender of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.9 (1) first_surname (1) First surname of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.10 (1) second_surname (1) Second surname of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.11 (1) married_surname (1) Married surname of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.12 (1) first_name (1) First name of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.13 (1) second_name (1) Second name of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.14 (1) company_name (1) Name of the sending or receiving company. (1)
1.15 (1) address (1) Address of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.16 (1) birth_date (1) Birth date of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.17 (1) nationality (1) Nationality of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.18 (1) residence_country (1) Country of residence of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.19 (1) city (1) City of residence of the sender or beneficiary abroad. (1)
1.20 (1) state (1) State of residence of the sender or beneficiary abroad. (1)
1.21 (1) other_cities (1) Other cities of the sender or beneficiary abroad. (1)
1.22 (1) department (1) Department, municipality, and district of residence of the sender or beneficiary of El Salvador. (1) (2)
1.23 (1) phone_number (1) Phone number of the sender or beneficiary. (1)
1.24 (1) occupation (1) Occupation of the sender or beneficiary person. (1)
1.25 (1) linkage (1) Linkage of the sender with the beneficiary. (1)

File 2. Shipment (shipment.xml) (1)
In this file, the general data of the shipments sent and received must be detailed, for which the shipment number must be uniquely identified, as required in the field <<2.1 shipment_number>>, which must be reported in the field <<1.1 shipment_number>>. (1)

No. Column Name Description
2.1 (1) shipment_number (1) Shipment number. (1)
2.2 (1) shipment_origin (1) 1. Local: when the shipment originates in the country. (1)
2. Foreign: when the shipment originates abroad. (1)
2.3 (1) shipment_type (1) 1. Remittance. (1)
2. Transfer. (1)
2.4 (1) shipment_status (1) . (1)
2.5 (1) emiter_etd_code (1) ETD Code that performs the shipment. (1)
2.6 (1) receiving_agent_code (1) AGENT Code that receives the shipment at the national level. (1)
2.7 (1) paying_subagent_code (1) Code assigned to SUB-AGENT that pays the shipment at the national level. (1)
2.8 (1) origin_country (1) Country of origin of the shipment. (1)
2.9 (1) destination_country (1) Destination country of the shipment. (1)
2.10 (1) origin_city (1) City where the shipment was made. (1)
2.11 (1) destination_city (1) City where the shipment was paid. (1)
2.12 (1) shipment_amount (1) Shipment amount. (1)
2.13 (1) shipment_date (1) Date on which the shipment was made. (1)
2.14 (1) payment_date (1) Date of payment of the shipment. (1)
2.15 (1) commission_value (1) Value of the commission charged for money transfer within national territory. (1)
2.16 (1) shipment_concept (1) Shipment concept, for transactions equal to or greater than US$3,000.00 (Electronic Money Provider Companies are exempted). (1)
2.17 (1) sending_currency_type (1) Local currency type of the sending country. (1)
2.18 (1) payment_currency_type (1) Local currency type of the country paying the shipment. (1)
2.19 (1) payment_method_code1 (1) Code of the form in which the shipment was paid, example: cash, savings account, etc. (1)

ANEXO No. 2 (1)
ELECTRONIC
Approval: 19/08/2020
Validity: 07/09/2020
No. Column Name Description
2.20 (1) paid_value1 (1) Paid value of the shipment. (1)
2.21 (1) reference_number1 (1) Reference number in which the shipment was applied, in case the payment method is different from cash. (1)
2.22 (1) payment_country (1) Country of payment of the shipment. (1)