Circular 4/2013 — Modifications to Circular 17/2010

(First Section) FEDERAL OFFICIAL GAZETTE Friday, December 6, 2013

BANK OF MEXICO

CIRCULAR 4/2013 regarding the Modifications to the SPEI Rules.

A logo appears at the margin, which says: Bank of Mexico.

CIRCULAR 4/2013

TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERBANK ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS SYSTEM:

SUBJECT: MODIFICATIONS TO CIRCULAR 17/2010

The Bank of Mexico, with the objective of continuing the expansion of options that promote the use of secure, expeditious, and low-cost payment methods, which allow for the utilization of developed technology for such purposes, has resolved to adjust the regulation applicable to electronic fund transfers to facilitate, under conditions of user security and adequate competition among participants, the use of mobile devices in the processing of operations processed through the Interbank Electronic Payments System (SPEI). In this way, the measures contemplated in this Circular contribute to achieving the legal purposes of the Bank of Mexico to promote the proper functioning of payment systems, as well as to promote the healthy development of the financial system and protect the interests of the public.

Therefore, based on Articles 28, sixth and seventh paragraphs, of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States; 2nd, 3rd, fraction I, 24, and 31 of the Bank of Mexico Law; 6th and 10 of the Payments Systems Law; 22 of the Law for Transparency and Regulation of Financial Services; as well as 4th, first paragraph, 8th, fourth and seventh paragraphs, 10, first paragraph, 14 Bis, in relation to 17, fraction I, and 15, in relation to 20, fraction XI, of the Internal Regulations of the Bank of Mexico, which grant it the authority to issue provisions through the General Legal Directorate and the General Directorate of Payments Systems and Corporate Services, respectively; as well as the Second of the Agreement on the Assignment of Administrative Units of the Bank of Mexico, fractions VIII and X, it has resolved to add in numeral 1 the definition of “Transfer through Mobile Devices”; numeral 3.1 with a second paragraph to clause a), as well as clauses c Bis) and e); numeral 3.3, with a second paragraph to clause a), moving the current second paragraph to become the third; numeral 6 with a second paragraph to clauses a) and c) and a clause a Bis); numeral 7.2 with a clause d Bis), as well as numeral 11.3 with a second paragraph; and modify numerals 2, first and second paragraphs; 3.1, first paragraph, as well as its clauses a), c), sub-clause ii) and d); 6, clause a) third paragraph; 7.2 clauses b) and d); 7.3; 8, first paragraph, and the Annex, all of them of the “Rules of the Interbank Payments System”, contained in Circular 17/2010, to remain in the following terms:

RULES OF THE INTERBANK ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS SYSTEM

“1. DEFINITIONS

For brevity, in singular or plural, in these Rules it will be understood as:

. . .

Transfer through Mobile Devices: the electronic fund transfer between deposit accounts at sight administered by two Participants, in which the ordering account holder has transmitted to the Participant who is their client the respective request to send a Transfer Order through a mobile device whose mobile phone line number has been associated with the account that said Participant maintains for them.”

“2. CRITERIA FOR ACTING AS A PARTICIPANT

Retirement fund administrators; brokerage houses; exchange houses; credit institutions; insurance companies; savings and loan cooperatives; share distribution companies of investment societies; regulated multiple-object financial societies; popular financial societies; community financial societies, and operating societies of investment societies may act as Participants in the SPEI, as well as clearing houses authorized by the Bank of Mexico in terms of the Law for Transparency and Regulation of Financial Services.

The Bank of Mexico may allow other entities regulated and supervised by the Bank itself, the National Banking and Securities Commission, the National Retirement Savings System Commission, or the National Insurance and Surety Commission to act as Participants.

Friday, December 6, 2013 FEDERAL OFFICIAL GAZETTE (First Section)

Interested persons wishing to act as Participants must communicate this to the Payments Systems Directorate of the Bank of Mexico, as well as prove, to the satisfaction of said Directorate, that they have the necessary technical elements to operate in the SPEI.

. . .”

3. REQUEST AND SEND OF TRANSFER ORDERS FROM ACCOUNT HOLDERS

“3.1 REQUEST FOR SEND

Issuing Participants who maintain deposit accounts at sight for their clients and who, in turn, have agreed to process the send requests of Transfer Orders that they transmit to the holders of such accounts, must allow such requests to be presented as follows:

a) For any amount, provided they have available resources in the account to be charged.

Regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, the send requests of Transfer Orders, in no case, must exceed the applicable limits established by the National Banking and Securities Commission for those operations corresponding to such transfers;

b) . . .

c) . . .

i) . . .

ii) From 6:00:00 to 17:30:00 hours, when the request is made through computer applications or portals on the worldwide network (Internet),

c Bis) Regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, Issuing Participants must, directly or through clearing houses that are also Participants and with whom they so agree, receive and process the respective requests for Transfer Orders, every day of the year, at least during a schedule from 5:00:00 to 1:00:00 hours of the following day;

d) With the information indicated in the fields “Reference Number” and “Payment Concept”. In the case of Transfers through Mobile Devices, they may omit the reference number field, and

e) With the indication of any of the following data to identify the beneficiary's account, at the choice of the respective account holder sending the Transfer Order request: (i) the eighteen digits that make up the Standardized Banking Key (CLABE); (ii) the sixteen digits of the debit card that, if applicable, corresponds, or (iii) the last ten digits of the mobile phone line number that has been associated with the beneficiary's deposit account.”

“3.3 SEND OF TRANSFER ORDERS

Issuing Participants must:

a) . . .

Regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, send, directly or through clearing houses that are also Participants and with whom they so agree, the respective Transfer Order to the Receiving Participant no later than five seconds after the time it informs the account holder of the approval of their request as stated in clause b) of the previous numeral.

. . .

b) . . .”

“6. CREDITING OF ACCEPTED TRANSFER ORDERS

Receiving Participants must:

a) . . .

Regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, credit the amount of the Accepted Transfer Orders in the beneficiaries' accounts, within five seconds following the receipt of the Settlement Notice.

(Federal Official Gazette First Section Friday, December 6, 2013)

The time periods indicated above in this clause a) will not be mandatory for Accepted Transfer Orders received between the SPEI opening schedule specified in the Manual and 04:59:59 hours Mexico City time, regarding which their amount must be credited in the accounts of the beneficiaries in question, no later than 05:00:05 hours, as well as in the other cases provided for in the Manual.

a Bis) Regarding Participants that are credit institutions, as well as the others authorized to maintain deposit accounts at sight for their clients and who, in accordance with applicable provisions, associate mobile phone line numbers to said accounts for the purpose of making electronic fund transfers on terms equivalent to Transfers through Mobile Devices, such Participants must: (i) associate only the number of one of said lines to a single deposit account at sight of levels 2, 3, or 4 or, if they so decide, level 1, in order to receive Accepted Transfer Orders that identify the beneficiaries' accounts with the last ten digits of said numbers, and (ii) in accordance with applicable provisions and the manual of operation to administer the catalog of identifiers of beneficiary financial entities for Transfers through Mobile Devices issued by the Bank of Mexico, request the Bank itself to carry out the registration in said catalog of the denominations that said institutions decide to assign to themselves, as well as also register the last three digits of the participant key number in the SPEI catalog, in order for said denominations and digits to be used to identify the institution in question, as a Receiving Participant of the referred transfers.

b) . . .

c) . . .

Regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, effect the generation of the Credit Confirmation and the send to the SPEI within five minutes following that they have credited in the beneficiary's account the amount of the Accepted Transfer Order, in the circumstances and in accordance with the specifications established in the Manual.”

7. RETURN OF ACCEPTED TRANSFER ORDERS

“7.2 The returns must be effected no later than sixty seconds after the receipt of the Settlement Notice. This time period will not be mandatory for Transfer Orders:

a) . . .

b) Received between the SPEI opening schedule specified in the Manual and 04:59:59 hours Mexico City time. In this case, they must be returned no later than 05:00:10 hours;

c) . . .

d) Referenced in numeral 7.1 clause d). In these cases, the Receiving Participant must effect its return within the agreed time period for such effect, which may not exceed six days;

d Bis) Regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, the time period will be ten seconds, and

e) . . .”

“7.3 Once the Transfer Order subject to return is received, its amount must be credited in the original applicant's account, no later than thirty seconds after the receipt of the corresponding Settlement Notice or, regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, no later than five seconds after the receipt of the corresponding Settlement Notice.”

“8. BALANCES AT CLOSE OF OPERATIONS

The balances of the SPEI Accounts of Participants that are credit institutions will be transferred, at the close of operations, to the accounts denominated in national currency that the Bank of Mexico itself maintains for them in terms of Article 113 of Circular 3/2012 issued by the Bank of Mexico or by which, if applicable, it is substituted.

. . .”

11. GENERAL PROVISIONS

“11.3 . . .

Friday, December 6, 2013 FEDERAL OFFICIAL GAZETTE (First Section)

Participants that are credit institutions and the others authorized to maintain deposit accounts at sight for their clients, as well as the clearing houses for Transfers through Mobile Devices, are obligated to maintain their connection with the SPEI, during the operating schedules that correspond in terms of numeral 3.1, clause c Bis) and, in case that for any circumstance they lose said connection, they must apply the contingency procedure that corresponds in terms of what is provided in the Manual.”

ANNEX

TARIFFS IN THE SPEI

Tariffs for the calculation of the SPEI monthly fee

Concept	Amount
Per Transfer Order sent:
a) In the schedule comprised between the SPEI opening hour established in the Manual and 10:00 hours:	$0.10
b) In the schedule comprised between 10:00 hours and the SPEI closing hour established in the Manual:	$0.50
c) Through Mobile Device:	$0.10
Per Transfer Order sent to CLS:	€1.00 2
Per Transfer Request sent:	$0.50
Per return received:
a) In the schedule comprised between the SPEI opening hour established in the Manual and 10:00 hours:	$0.10
b) In the schedule comprised between 10:00 hours and the SPEI closing hour established in the Manual:	$0.50
c) Of Transfer through Mobile Device:	$0.10
Quantity of information retransmitted at the request of the Participant:	$0.01/Byte

TRANSITORY CLAUSES

FIRST. This Circular will enter into force on the next banking business day following its publication in the Federal Official Gazette, with the exception of what is provided in the following transitory numerals.

SECOND. What is provided in numeral 3.1, clause e), sub-clause (iii), and in numeral 6, clause a Bis), will enter into force on May 2, 2014.

THIRD. What is provided in numeral 3.1, clause c Bis), and in numeral 6, clause a), third paragraph, will enter into force on November 14, 2014.

From September 26, 2014 until the date indicated in the previous paragraph, regarding Transfers through Mobile Devices, Issuing Participants must receive and process the respective requests for Transfer Orders, every day of the year, at least during the schedule from 6:00 to 17:30 hours.

FOURTH. What is provided in numeral 3.3, clause a), second paragraph; numeral 6, clause a), second paragraph; numeral 6, clause c), second paragraph; numeral 7.2, clauses b) and d Bis), as well as numeral 7.3, will enter into force on February 20, 2015.

1 All types of Transfer Order are considered, except for returns accepted by the system. 2 For the determination of the amount in national currency, the following will be used: a) the equivalence of the Euro with the United States dollar (U.S.A.) published in the Federal Official Gazette in the month immediately preceding that of the payment date, and b) the exchange rate that the Bank of Mexico publishes in the Federal Official Gazette on the next banking business day immediately preceding that on which the payment is made.

(Federal Official Gazette First Section Friday, December 6, 2013)

Mexico, D.F., December 4, 2013.- BANK OF MEXICO: The General Director of Payments Systems and Corporate Services, Lorenza Martínez Trigueros.- Rubric.- The General Legal Director, Luis Urrutia Corral.- Rubric.

For any consultation regarding the content of this Circular, please contact the Authorizations, Consultations and Legal Control Management, at the phones (55) 5237-2308, (55) 5237-2317 or (55) 5237-2000 Ext. 3200.