Banque de la République d'Haïti

CIRCULAIRE

No. 101-4

TO BANKS
AND CREDIT CARD COMPANIES

Pursuant to paragraph 5 of Article 83 of the law of May 14, 2012, on banks and other financial institutions, this circular determines the standards for operations carried out using payment cards.

1. Definitions

The following definitions apply to this circular:

a) Credit Card: a payment card issued by a financial institution mentioned in Article 2 of the law on banks and other financial institutions, allowing its holder to perform payment operations.

b) Merchants and Affiliated Professionals: all suppliers of goods and services accepting the card as a means of payment.

c) Payment Operations: withdrawals, payments, advances, or fund transfers carried out from electronic payment terminals.

d) Electronic Payment Terminal (EPT): an electronic device capable of reading card data, recording an operation, and communicating with a remote authentication server.

e) Cardholder: a natural or legal person in whose name a financial institution has issued a credit card.

2. Operations Carried Out Both Within the Territory of the Republic of Haiti and Abroad

2.1 Display at the EPT

Credit cards issued in Haiti must be settled exclusively in gourdes, regardless of where the operation was performed. In other words, whether the operation was performed in Haiti or abroad, the settlement must be denominated in gourdes. When the cardholder performs a payment operation using their credit card, the amount must be displayed in gourdes at the EPT. Issuing banks and credit card companies are required to ensure that merchants and affiliated professionals strictly comply with the provisions of this circular.

2.2 Billing of Transactions and Account Statements

The billing of operations performed both in Haiti and abroad by cards issued in Haiti is done exclusively in gourdes.

As of the effective date of this circular, the exchange rate for international transactions carried out through Visa or Mastercard payment cards issued in Haiti is the Average Acquisition Rate (TMA).

Issuing banks and credit card companies are required to provide in account statements the exchange rate actually charged for each transaction. This rate must be equal to the sum of the following elements:

• conversion rate applied by Visa or Mastercard;
• fees on international transactions applied by banks or credit card companies;
• fees directly charged to the cardholder by MasterCard or Visa, if applicable, on the amount of transactions performed abroad.

The fees on international transactions applied by any issuing bank of credit cards or credit card company cannot exceed 2.75%.

The fees displayed by issuing banks of credit cards and credit card companies as those directly charged by Mastercard or Visa, if applicable, to the cardholder must be those mentioned in the pricing policy document of the institution in question.

Any change introduced by Mastercard and Visa at the level of their pricing must be notified to the BRH by banks and credit card companies within seventy-two (72) hours from the receipt of the notification by these institutions.

3. Reports

Issuing banks of credit cards and credit card companies are required to complete and electronically send to the BRH on a monthly basis, no later than three (3) days before the end of each month, the report on the exchange rate actually charged in gourdes on international transactions according to the format attached to this circular.

4. Sanctions

In the event of non-compliance with the obligations defined in this circular, a financial institution is subject to the following penalties:

a. Late submission of report

Failure to provide, within the required deadline, the report provided for in section 3 of this circular, the financial institution is subject to a penalty of fifty thousand gourdes (HTG 50,000.00) per day of infringement. The penalty period extends from the day of the infringement until the day when the information is made available to the BRH.

a) Non-compliance with established billing limits

Failure to comply with the provisions of section 2 of this circular regarding the billing of international transactions, issuing banks of credit cards and credit card companies incur a penalty of five hundred thousand gourdes (HTG 500,000.00) per infraction.

b) Others

Following documented complaints from a client and deemed justified by the BRH, the BRH may require the restitution of overpayments made by the client, without prejudice to the remedies open to the client.

Any fine will be deducted from the balance of one of the accounts of the faulty bank at the BRH. On the other hand, the payment of any fine by a credit card company, subsidiary of a bank, will be deducted directly from the account of the parent company domiciled at the BRH.

5. Repeal and Entry into Force

This circular repeals Circular No. 101-3 and enters into force on October 1, 2021.

Port-au-Prince, September 17, 2021.

Jean Baden Dubois
Governor

ANNEX

Monthly Report

Rates Applied on International Transactions Performed by Credit Card

Name of the Institution:

Month:	a) VISA or MASTERCARD Conversion Rate: TMA (HTG/USD)	b) Fee Directly Charged by VISA	c) Fee Directly Charged by MasterCard	d) Credit Card Institution Fees on International Transactions (≤ 2.75%)	Exchange Rate Actually Charged on International Transactions (HTG/USD) = a+b+c+d
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
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Day 7
Day 8
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Day 10
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Day 14
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